An End and a Beginning
by my shangri-la
Summary: They didn't work out the first time around, but they have something tangible between them that forces them to be in each other's lives forever. They are getting a second chance, but with Dominic and Letty, nothing comes easy. AU setting inspired by a picture I found and put in the top corner.
1. Chapter 1

**An End and a Beginning**

_**Life Unaccounted For Universe: Part 1**_

**Summary: Part One of a series of one-shots in an AU setting inspired by a picture I found and put in the top corner.**

**Disclaimer: Hahaha, I wish! I own nothing.**

**A/N: It's a bit of a shocker! Enjoy and review!**

She heard a throat clearing behind her and heaved out a sigh. Apparently she had been found out. Letty leaned back on a hand, using the other to brush away her now loose curls, only to find wetness on her face. She hadn't realized she had been crying. _Goddammit._

The shadow that finally made its way into her vision was very familiar - and definitely not one that matched the man that she should have gotten married to over an hour ago.

He crouched behind her, hand wrapping around her bare upper arm. "People are worried about you", Dominic said seriously.

"What are you doing here?" she asked hoarsely, refusing to turn and look at him. She allowed his touch to steady her for a brief moment before pulling away.

"Mia texted me", he answered flatly. "She said you dumped your groom and took off. Abandoning your own wedding? Can we say overdramatic, Letty?" he sighed.

"Obviously you can", she muttered seriously. "Why are you _here?_"

He snorted derisively. "Apparently I'm still the only person who knows how to find you when you're upset."

"Can we not rehash our history please? Not today." She shook her head roughly. "You didn't answer my question", she said quietly. "Why the hell are you here?"

"Don't make me the bad guy here, Let", he said roughly. "I asked you to marry me three years ago, and you said no. You closed the door on our relationship and nailed it shut, not me. And I think the fact that I was going to let you marry that guy –_raise our son with someone else_ – don't act like I don't care, Letty. You know me better than that."

"Where is Aiden?" she asked quietly.

"With Mia", he offered, "Great parenting by the way."

Letty did turn then to glare at him. "Shut up. He was with our entire family. I knew he'd be fine."

"I'm sorry", he said seriously, searching her tear-stained face. "God, Letty you kill me", he murmured. "Why the hell didn't you just marry him?"

"Apparently I'm a chump", she snapped irritatedly. "I can't be with you, and apparently I can't be with anyone else either. Can you just go away? I've got enough shit in my head right now. I don't even want to deal with you right now."

He chuckled under his breath. "I'll let that slide, because you've had a shitty day."

"_Thanks so much_", she muttered sarcastically.

"Alright, come on", he said standing up. "No more moping. I'll give you a ride to the house."

"You don't need to do that", she refuted, pushing herself up carefully.

"Look, I'm sure you could hitch a ride fairly easily in that get-up, but if I come back without you, Mia threatened my balls with a machete. And while I know you're not invested in my appendages anymore-"

She groaned. "Oh my god, I'll go with you if you promise to shut the hell up about your dick."

He grinned, "That I can do."

Letty followed his to his car and was brought up short when he opened the door to the backseat. "I stopped to grab you some clothes", he said quietly.

She looked up at him briefly, stunned to near speechlessness before she found her voice. "I- you really need to give me my house key back", she finished mildly. "Keep your eyes on the road", she murmured before he closed her door.

He didn't answer her until he was behind the wheel with the engine running. Dom met her gaze in the rearview mirror as he put the car in gear. "I've seen it all already, sweetheart."

00

**A/N: Alright! It's just a little piece. A picture was the perfect inspiration for a drabble. Let me know what you think**


	2. Chapter 2

**An End and a Beginning**

_**Life Unaccounted For Universe: Part 2**_

**Summary: Part One of a series of one-shots in an AU setting inspired by a picture I found and put in the top corner.**

**Disclaimer: Hahaha, I wish! I own nothing.**

**A/N: It's a bit of a shocker! Enjoy and review!**

The ride back to her three-bedroom townhouse she shared with Mia was almost longer than Letty could almost stand under the circumstances even after she changed out of her would-be wedding dress she was now certain needed to be burned. Dom was mercifully silent in a grand show of restraint.

But that could have been because he figured the one comment he _did_ make had been _more_ than worth it – despite the hard kick she landed to the back of his seat.

She had changed into normal clothes quickly. And as annoyed as she was that he was driving the car, she was grateful for the dark tinted windows. As uncomfortable as it was getting half-naked in her ex's backseat, she wasn't an exhibitionist. Letty was just content that passersby wouldn't be given a free show.

She was stuffing the cursed dress into the now empty bag when he spoke.

"So… _not_ a white wedding?" he asked, half amused, glancing towards the slivery white material.

She snorted. "You and I have a six year old son. I don't think my virginity was in question by anyone."

"Yeah. That got thrown out the car window with the condom", he snorted.

Fire flashed in her eyes and she kicked his seat roughly. "Not the time, Dominic", she growled. "Shut up and drive."

0

Letty used her key to let them in. The front room was quiet, but she heard voices coming from bedrooms down the hall.

"Mia?" she called.

There was a patter of feet running down the long hallway and she was tackled by the mini torpedo that was her son.

"Mama!"

"Hey, little man", she chuckled, running her fingers through his short hair.

He pulled away immediately with a scowl on his face. "I'm a big boy", he argued.

She grinned and crouched in front of him. "You're right. You are a big boy. I forget sometimes because I remember when you were _so_ tiny." Letty held her hands apart in measurement. She looked around theatrically then. "Did you shut Auntie Mia in your toy box again?"

"_No!_" he made another unhappy face.

She raised her eyebrows playfully and gestured to where Dom was standing behind her, watching with a grin. "See who's here? Go say hi to Daddy. I'm going to find Mia-"

"I'm right here, Letty", Mia called from where she suddenly appeared to be rummaging in the linen closet. "I was just cleaning some things up." Her voice carried expertly over Aiden's shriek of happiness over seeing his father as he jumped into the air to be caught – something she had stopped flinching about _years ago_, because Dominic _always_ caught his son.

Letty rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Mia, if you don't stop 'cleaning up' I'm gonna have to start paying you to live here."

"Never gonna happen", the younger girl replied with a grin. "Hello, brother", she teased.

"I saw you an hour ago", he chuckled. "Don't you have a paper to write or something?"

"Not this week", she grinned. "I'm ahead. Ah, Letty… your mom was here. She said to call her- and a few things that I shouldn't repeat." Mia gave a pointed look in the direction of Aiden who was talking animatedly to his father.

Letty groaned. "Great. She'll never let me live this down."

Mia chuckled. "No, she probably won't."

"Mommy, Daddy says he remembers when I was little too!"

Letty forced a smile and turned around. "I'm sure he does. You were _very _cute", she teased.

"_Mom_", he complained.

She grinned. "Don't grumble at me like that. It makes you sound too old."

"Do I still get to stay with Daddy this weekend?"

Letty stifled a groan. She could not _deal_ with this right now. Her four night honeymoon, a compromise she had made with Trevor, was no longer happening. _Obviously._ They were planning to go on an extended trip over the summer to make up for the length- _stop it!_

She sighed and traded brief looks with Dom before nodding. "Sure, why not. Let's go get your bag." Aiden scrambled from Dom's arms and ran for the hallway, only pausing to grab her hand to drag her with him. Despite this day making the top five worst in her life, laughter tumbled from her lips as she hurried down the hall. As long as Letty had her son, she would be okay – eventually.

Fifteen minutes later, it was quiet.

Mia looked at her seriously. "I'll make you a drink."

**00**

**A/N: Oh my gosh. Seriously, you guys are amazing. I wasn't expecting this to make such a big splash. I thought it would just sneak in there. But thank you all for the reviews! Glad you're enjoying my little tangent – since I couldn't help myself. =)**


	3. Chapter 3

**An End and a Beginning**

_**Life Unaccounted For Universe: Part 2**_

**Summary: Part One of a series of one-shots in an AU setting inspired by a picture I found and put in the top corner.**

**Disclaimer: Hahaha, I wish! I own nothing.**

**A/N: Okay, here's a little bit of back story for you guys! And this chapter is even in Dom's perspective, so double win for me! Enjoy and review!**

Dominic drove home listening to Aiden talk about something school related from the backseat. He added an 'uh-huh' and nodded appropriately. His son liked to talk, and would ramble as long as someone appeared to be listening. Dom thinks he must have gotten that trait from Mia – since it hadn't come from Letty or him.

He was just thankful to have missed another run-in with Letty's mother. Susana Ortiz could be pretty damn terrifying. To her, Dom had gone from 'that nice boy down the block' at age nine, to 'the bastard who couldn't keep his dick in his pants and knocked up my baby girl' at age twenty-one.

It was a startling realization.

Letty had been nineteen at the time, but her mother had still pitched a fit – and threatened to cut off his prized limb. _In hindsight, it might have gone better if she hadn't caught them in the bathroom with the pregnancy test fighting over the directions._

After Susana lividly read the test, she had grabbed them both by the ear and marched them down the street to the Toretto's and made them tell his father. Anthony Toretto was a reasonable man, but he had quite seriously asked if his son was looking to have a switch taken to his ass. When he had finished giving them his '_Godfather_' glare, he asked them just what the hell they were planning to do with their lives now that there was a baby on the way.

Letty's answer to that question had been to vomit on Dom's shoes.

Dom pulled into his driveway with a slight grin on his face. They had come a long way since then. Even if they weren't together, they were at least in semi-amicable terms most of the time – and they had grown up enough to be pretty damn good parents.

He barely put the car in park before Aiden was unbuckled and shooting out of the car. Dom got out quickly and leaned on the door. "Hey! What happened to waiting for a complete stop?" he called.

Aiden turned around with a broad grin that could rival his mother's mischievous smile. "It's not a roller coaster, Daddy!" Then he was running up the porch steps.

Dom chuckled and followed, only pausing to grab the packed duffle bag from the front seat. He barely got in the door before Aiden ran back at him.

"Where's Grandpa?"

"Didn't see his car", Dom shrugged. "He's probably at the garage still. He'll be home soon. Here", he passed over the small bag. "Go put this in your room. Then you can help me start dinner."

"Okay!"

0

Less than an hour later, Dom heard the familiar engine as his father's car as it pulled into the driveway.

Aiden was scrambling off the chair he had been standing on while 'helping' his father cook. He was pushing open the front door when the older Toretto stepped onto the porch.

"Well, look who's here", Tony laughed. He bent down to kiss the top of his grandson's head and ruffled his hair before they stepped into the house. "It smells like your daddy's up to something in the kitchen", he said curiously.

"Just in time, Pops", Dom said as they entered the kitchen. "Dinner's ready."

Tony raised an eyebrow, making sure Aiden was busy. "Should I even ask how your day was?" he sighed.

Dom snorted and grabbed two beers from the fridge, passing one to his father. "_I_ wouldn't ask me how my day was", he muttered wryly. "Aiden, go wash your hands, kiddo."

"How's your sister?"

"Fine", Dom shook his head before checking that his son was out of hearing range. "She's probably playing grief counselor – or bartender. Letty can still throw 'em back pretty hard if she's upset. Mia will give her a day to settle before she starts kicking ass over it."

Tony shook his head. "The situation is unfortunate", he said quietly. "You both deserve to be happy – however it happens. Family dinner on Sunday night", he stated seriously, "Everyone, no excuses. I'll call your sister and have her pass it on to Letty. I trust the two of you can behave?"

Dom stopped himself from rolling his eyes. It had been over a year since they had nearly started a brawl over a family dinner – his dad still hadn't let them live it down. "We'll manage."

**00**

**A/N: Well, that's chapter three – I know it's short, but I didn't want to drag it out too much longer. But I thought we needed a bit of Dom's voice before continuing. Enjoy! And thanks for all the reviews!**


	4. Chapter 4

**An End and a Beginning**

_**Life Unaccounted For Universe: Part 4**_

**Summary: Part One of a series of one-shots in an AU setting inspired by a picture I found and put in the top corner.**

**Disclaimer: Hahaha, I wish! I own nothing.**

Letty woke up to Mia's cell phone ringing and her pillow shifting underneath her, and groaned in protest. She heard Mia laugh from above her, and she blinked her eyes open blearily to find that she had passed out across Mia's lap on the sofa.

She heard Mia answer her phone, but couldn't compute the girl's quiet words. She felt fingers in her hair and sighed in slight relief from the pain in her head.

A few minutes later, Mia set her phone back on the end table. "How ya feelin', Let?" she murmured.

"_Fuck me_", she groaned. "Why'd you let me _do_ that?"

"So you could get the drunk grieving process over with", Mia grinned down at her. "The hangover will fit nicely with the self-loathing."

"You suck", Letty muttered half-heartedly. "Who was on the phone?"

"Dad", she answered. "He said we're having dinner Sunday. Show up or he'll come get us and drag us home by our hair."

Letty laughed. "That's what my mom used to say about me getting caught in Dom's bedroom."

"Apparently that wasn't a very effective threat", Mia teased.

"No", Letty snorted wryly. "It really wasn't."

"Dad also requested that you remember your table manners, and not chuck the dinner rolls at my brother's head."

Letty groaned and pushed herself upright, "Seriously? That was _one_ time. And Dom was being a dick."

"You probably shouldn't have announced your engagement to Trevor over family dinner before you told him", Mia said quietly.

"I apologized for that", Letty said quietly. "Tony should try to let it go."

"Well, Dad uses guilt like Picasso used a paintbrush", Mia laughed.

"Too much Catholic Church", Letty murmured teasingly. "Ugh, my head is _throbbing_. What the hell is wrong with me?"

"You want an answer that doesn't have anything to do with the alcohol that gave your brain a swirly?" Mia smirked.

"Very funny, Toretto", she muttered dryly.

"Letty, you waited until you walked up the aisle to call of your wedding. I mean, you've always sucked with your timing, but _damn_", Mia shook her head. "I'm pretty sure your top one on your list of stupid moments got bumped."

Letty laughed. "You think that beats when I tossed my bra at Dom in the living room because I thought we were alone and your dad walked in? I still don't think I've ever been so mortified."

Mia grinned. "If it weren't for the total _ick_ factor, I almost wish I had seen that."

"At least I was over eighteen that time and he didn't call my mother. Instead he just told us to stop defiling all the furniture in the house – and especially not his recliner."

Mia raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't the recliner how you ended up with Aiden?"

Letty smothered a grin. "Tony doesn't know that."

0

Three hours later, after Letty had showered and her headache had dulled to a low roar, there was a knock on their door. Mia looked up from a sketch she was working on and saw Letty glaring at the television.

"Am I getting the door then?" Mia asked semi-sarcastically.

"It's my mother", Letty said blandly. "I can feel the disturbance in the force."

"My god, you're a drama queen when you're hung-over", Mia muttered, setting her sketch pad aside just as there was another sharp knock. She looked over her shoulder, wide-eyed. "It _is_ her." She hurried to the door. "_Susana_, come in. Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Thank you, Mia." Susana Ortiz was a formidable presence and she entered the living room, heels clacking on the wooden floor. Her dark hair was spun against the back of her head, and her gold hoop earrings complimented her white business suit. "I see my daughter was too lazy to answer the door", she said sharply, looking over at Letty with a shrewd eye.

Mia took her seat on the couch silently and began drawing again.

Letty glared in her direction. "Lay off, ma, okay? And cut the hoity-toity shit. We're from Puerto Rico, not England."

"You're hung-over", Susana stated flatly. "This is your life, Leticia. Suck it up and quit throwing yourself a pity party."

"Did you come here just to yell at me?" Letty demanded, irritation seeping into her voice, "Because Mia is more than capable on that front."

Susana sighed and looked around curiously. "Where is my grandson?"

"My son is with his father", Letty said, calmly choosing her words. "I didn't see any reason he shouldn't spend the weekend over there even if it will be shorter than planned."

Her mother perched on the ottoman by her feet. "Ah, Letty, I only want your happiness", she said in a soft tone. "And you don't need a man for that."

"It helps", Mia muttered under her breath.

Letty snorted in amusement. "Got a boy toy we don't know about, Mi?"

"Yeah, right", she grumbled. "Dom's a bloodhound when it comes to boyfriends."

"No shit."

"I spoke with Tony this morning", Susana stated. "He said-"

"Dinner, we know", Letty smiled slightly. "He called Mia."

"So, I had a reason for stopping by."

Letty rolled her eyes. "You mean other than chewing on my ass?"

Susana rolled her eyes. "There's no need to be such a drama queen just yet."

"_Yet?_" Letty repeated dubiously, sitting up in her chair, "God, ma, _what_? You're starting to make me nervous."

She opened her purse and pulled out a sealed envelope. "Here", Susana said quietly, holding it in Letty's direction. "It's from Trevor. He stopped by this morning before I left for work. He said he'll be out of town next weekend, and you can stop by to get your things then."

Letty groaned and took the letter only to drop it on the end table next to her. "I can't believe he made you a freakin' carrier pigeon. I really made a mess of it this time didn't I?"

"Do you believe you should have married him?" her mother asked seriously.

Letty closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the cushion. "No, but-"

"If you know you made the right decision, Leticia, it isn't a mess. You just need to accept that you'll be starting another new chapter."

"Why is that all I seem to do, huh? I went from a teenager, to a parent, to a _single_ parent- I'm always closing chapters on my life instead of living it. For once I'd love to close someone else's chapter", she growled.

Mia snickered. "Letty, you always make everything sound so damn violent."

"That's just my personality", Letty grumbled.

Susana stood up. "I have to go back to work, but I didn't want to hang onto that letter, and I wanted to check on you. I know you're in good hands. Take the weekend to do what you need to do. Come Monday though; go back to your life. No one wants to see you lose yourself again." She leaned down to kiss her daughter's forehead. "I'll see you both at dinner tomorrow night."

Letty wiped at her forehead. "Seriously, with the lipstick print?" she complained.

Susana smiled in amusement before turning to give Mia the same treatment. She cupped the girl's cheek. "Thank you", she said quietly. "I'm only a phone call away."

Mia nodded. "I'll walk you out."

**00**

**A/N: Oh my gosh, seriously, you guys are amazing! That's chapter four. Enjoy and review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**An End and a Beginning**

_**Life Unaccounted For Universe: Part 5**_

**Summary: Part One of a series of one-shots in an AU setting inspired by a picture I found and put in the top corner.**

**Disclaimer: Hahaha, I wish! I own nothing.**

"Letty, get your ass out of bed!"

"Ugh", Letty groaned into her pillow. "Mia, go away."

Mia went into the room and yanked open the blinds. "It's after one", she said sternly. "You _know_ I'll dump water on you if you stay in bed. Go shower and act alive, would you", she demanded. "I'm declaring this the end of your weekend of moping. I'll call reinforcements if I have to."

"Have I told you lately that I hate you?" Letty muttered, yanking the covers over her head to block out the light, "Evil bitch."

"Do you _want _to show up at my dad's house with a hangover?"

"I'm an adult. What are they gonna do? Ground me?"

"You're not acting like an adult. You're hiding under the covers and playing opossum", Mia said flatly.

Letty cursed angrily, and Mia snickered.

"_What?!_" Letty snarled, yanking the covers back violently.

Mia grinned, "I just had a lump of blankets curse me out. See how you handle it if it happens to you."

Letty rolled her eyes. "Dinner isn't until six. Why are you dragging me out of bed now?"

"We're going over there at five", Mia reminded. "And you definitely need a shower. I didn't want to drag you over there looking like a wreck that needs to be committed."

"My life _sucks_ right now, Mia. I just need a few days to not think."

"Less thinking, more drinking", Mia rolled her eyes. "You did that already. I told you. You're done. Last night you made me spoon feed you ice cream because you were too drunk to hold a spoon."

Letty cringed. "Shit. Okay. You made your point. I'll go shower – and shave", she grimaced. "Make me some coffee."

Mia grinned, "Already done and waiting for you on the breakfast bar."

"Yeah, and tone down the peppiness while you're at it", Letty muttered as she stumbled towards her attached master bathroom.

"I love you!" Mia called as the bathroom door swung shut.

"Bite me!" Letty hollered back.

Mia pulled out her phone and replied to her last text message from Susana.

_Mission accomplished._

0

Half an hour later, Letty came out of the bathroom looking much more put together. Mia had already gotten quite sick of the older woman's grungy pajamas. '_Thank god for jeans'_ was something Mia never thought would cross her mind until now.

Letty went to the kitchen and reheated her cup of coffee. "Sorry… about earlier", she muttered sheepishly.

Mia smirked. "It's okay. It's not like you scare me – anymore", she laughed.

"Yeah, and that only took what? Five years?" Letty teased.

"You always looked like you wanted to punch someone in the nose and you glared at me because I liked to play with dolls", Mia said defensively. "That's probably why you and Vince get along so well. You always thought you had to be intimidating."

Letty rolled her eyes. "Clearly I've lost my touch."

"Only with your family", Mia shrugged. "We know you, Let. That's not a bad thing."

Letty scowled. "Hey, just 'cause I apologized for being a bitch when you _rudely_ dragged me out of bed, doesn't mean I want a therapy session, thank you very much."

"Hey, at least I give you my advice for free", Mia grinned.

"Aren't I lucky?" Letty teased sarcastically.

00

Mia drove them to the Toretto household. She didn't want Letty making any impromptu exits, but it wasn't likely today, since was still feeling the after-effects of the previous night. Mia was still calling it a win though. She had gotten Letty to shower, dress, _and_ do her hair and makeup. To her, that cancelled out the current hangover.

Mia let the engine of her car make the arrival of their announcement. They never bothered knocking anyway. The kitchen was full of people – Letty knew she was thinking the same thing as Mia did as they walked into the busiest room in the house: _thank God for the remodel last year._ The kitchen was twice as big now as it had been when they were growing up. As they got older, and more people came into their lives, the house seemed to get a bit smaller, even if it did get more vibrant as well.

When it had just been Tony, occasionally her mother, Letty, Mia, Dom, and Vince the house had enough space for all of them. But now there was Leon and Jesse – and Aiden. It was still cozy, but they all fit without feeling crowded now.

Vince saw them first and took the opportunity to make the first insensitive comment. "Hey, it's the Runaway Bride!"

Letty raised her eyebrows, lips twitching at the swat Tony delivered to the back of Vince's head. "I'm sorry; all I heard was 'blah, blah, blah, I love Julia Roberts movies'", she smirked.

He groaned. "I don't-"

"You do", Letty teased. "I bet you even cry."

Aiden looked up then from where he was sitting on the counter listening to Tony's cooking instructions. "Uncle Vince, you cried during a movie?" he asked curiously.

Vince scowled. "No, I didn't. Your momma just likes to be mean to me."

Letty grinned, squeezing his arm playfully as she passed. "That's 'cause you make it so easy." She kissed her son's forehead. "You were good, weren't you?" she asked seriously.

He nodded emphatically. "Uh-huh. I went to work with Daddy yesterday!"

Her mouth twitched. "So you had fun then?"

"Yeah, and Grandpa's teaching me to cook!" he pointed towards the pans on the stove.

"I see that! Maybe soon you can teach _me_ how to cook", Letty teased. She reached for a side hug from the older man, "Hey, Tony."

He kissed the top of her head. "It's nice to see you, Letty."

She frowned slightly. "I see you at the garage."

"I still miss you around the house. You're always welcome here – no matter what. I want you to know that."

She managed to huff indignantly, blinking away the mist in her eyes. "Thank you", she said sincerely.

"Yo, Let! Are you coming into work this week?" Dom called from the living room.

"'scuse me", she muttered, heading towards the archway between the two rooms. She found Dom hunched over the coffee table with a few sheets of paper spread out. She leaned in the doorway and stared at his right ear. "Now, why wouldn't you do that at the kitchen table so you don't end up with a crick in your neck?"

He waived her off, not looking at her over his shoulder. "Work?" he repeated.

"Why wouldn't I come into work this week?" she asked evenly.

He snorted but said nothing.

She let out a sigh. "Just… put me in where you need me, and let me know. I went and got myself a fucking mechanics degree", she muttered under her breath. "I might as well use it."

Dom smirked, and then looked up at the sound of a car pulling up to the house. "Your mother's here."

Letty groaned. "I need a beer." She walked back into the kitchen, heading for the fridge.

He finished the few notes he needed to make before going back into the kitchen where the family was swarming the stove like vultures. His attention caught when he heard his son squawking. Dom grinned. Mia was holding Aiden upside down and Susana had bent over to blow raspberries on his stomach.

Letty looked in his direction and they shared a moment of amusement.

"Daddy, _help!_" Aiden called finally.

Dom put on a serious face and went over, making a big show of taking his son out of Mia's arms and set him on the floor. "Better scoot", Dom told him seriously. "Nana likes to pinch cheeks."

Aiden smacked his hands to his face and went to watch a few minutes of cartoons before dinner.

Susana was staring at him with a raised eyebrow, "Very funny, Dominic."

He gave her an exaggerated grin and kissed her cheek in passing. "I thought so." Dom was glad she was relaxed today. Susana worked in a law office downtown, and spent her workdays wearing suits and keeping her hair twisted tight enough to produce a headache. It was nice to see her wearing jeans and a semi-casual shirt with her hair down. He had honestly forgotten the last time he had seen the woman wear tennis shoes.

"Don't get sassy with me. I gave you a sound whippin' when you were thirteen, and I've got plenty of snap left in my wrist", she warned.

He groaned when he heard Letty and Vince laughing behind him. "I'm almost twenty-eight", he complained.

"Yeah, and you should know better than to be disrespectful", Tony muttered, shaking his head.

"I'd rather go watch cartoons", Dom grumbled irritatedly.

"Alright", Letty interrupted, voice tinged with laughter, "Everybody quit picking on Dom. He hasn't eaten yet."

Tony turned off the last stove burner. "Food's done. Everyone grab a plate."

0

It was nearing eight o'clock when Letty looked at Aiden calmly. "It's almost your bedtime", she said offhandedly. "You have school tomorrow."

"Can Daddy take me to school in the morning?"

Letty smiled slightly. "You know, I thought you might ask me that. Good thing your backpack is in the car, huh?"

"Thanks, Mama!"

"You're welcome. Go put your pajamas on and brush your teeth. If you get in bed on time, I'll read you a story."

She stifled a laugh as he scrambled up, turning off the television and she could hear his footsteps trampling up the stairs and down the long hallway to his bedroom. Susana had left nearly an hour ago, and Vince had gotten an unofficial booty call ten minutes ago, and had left after putting a game in the Playstation box that Aiden could play. Letty stood up from the couch and stretched.

She went into the kitchen where Dom and Mia were chatting with their father over coffee. She had spent the last forty-five minutes listening to Aiden recount his weekend in great detail. Her son hadn't gotten the chatterbox gene from her, but she was a good listener.

Dom had let them be when they settled in the living room. Not only because he had already had the conversation, but because they had both learned to respect each other's private time with their son.  
They had decided early on, when it seemed that their separation would be permanent, that they didn't want to involve the court system. Neither of them wanted a custody battle in any shape or form. So the next best thing had been to get their relationship in semi-working order - and keep it that way.

It had been difficult for both of them. Luckily Aiden had been young enough that he didn't remember any of their heated arguments. They only blip in the last three or four years had been Trevor.

Trevor was gone now, but Letty didn't think they could go back to the way it had been. Things were still a little tense. And she got the distinct impression that the dysfunctional functionality that has made up their world, would soon crash and burn completely if they didn't make a new game plan.

She went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water and took a seat next to Mia who was telling Tony about a chemistry class she had to take.

"Where's Aiden?" Dom asked her quietly.

"Upstairs getting ready for bed", she shrugged. "He asked if you could take him to school in the morning. I figured you wouldn't care."

He nodded. "I don't mind."

"His backpack is in the car. I'll grab it before we leave. I told him I'd read to him before he fell asleep. We'll get going after that."

Dom sighed. "You don't gotta rush outta here", he murmured.

She snorted. _What? Like they could just hang out anymore?_ "What days am I working this week", Letty asked finally.

He raised his eyebrows at her abrupt topic change, but let it go, "You're off Tuesday and Sunday."

She smirked, "Not tomorrow, huh?"

"Yeah, well, you were bitchin' earlier", he rolled his eyes. "I didn't want to give you the impression that I was doing you a favor."

"Yeah, yeah, watch it", Letty buried a grin.

0

It was nearing nine o'clock when Letty left Aiden's bedroom, closing the door silently and going back downstairs. Dom looked at her for confirmation and she nodded.

"He's asleep. Mia, are you about ready to go?"

Mia waved at her distractedly and then looked up from an order list from their store. "I'm almost done with this. Give me a minute."

Letty sighed. "I'll grab Aiden's backpack. Then I'll wait for you in the car." She went to give Tony a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for dinner."

He nodded. "I meant what I said earlier. You should come around more often."

She smiled slightly, murmuring, "We'll see."

Dom was watching her when she straightened. "I'll come grab his bag."

Letty shrugged. "Whatever."

He followed her to Mia's car and waited for her to reach into the backseat and bring up Aiden's Superman school bag. Vince had tried to get him to buy one with the Hulk on it, but he had been vetoed. Dom took the bag Letty passed him and watched her lean tiredly against the car door.

"Thanks", he said finally.

She nodded distractedly. "It's fine. You know how I feel about 'weekend parents'. And you've never been like that." Letty smiled slightly then, looking a bit sheepish. "Besides, I have a bit of a selfish reason for it tonight."

Dom raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"I _really_ don't want to deal with Mrs. Peterson tomorrow", she admitted grudgingly.

He blinked. "You're scared of Aiden's teacher? He's only in first grade."

"Yeah, well, she hates me", Letty muttered.

Dom frowned, "What for? She gave me a Tootsie Pop once."

"Of course she likes you. She's a crazy old bat", she glared. "She doesn't like that I'm unmarried, had a child out of wedlock- whatever. She'll see I'm missing a wedding ring, and make some snide comment."

Dom couldn't help himself, and started laughing. "Dammit, Let. You don't even go to school anymore and the teachers still hate you."

"Shut it, Dom", she scowled. "I did fine in my college classes."

He grinned, hearing the door open as Mia came out. "You'll be alright, Letty."

And then he went back into the house, pausing only to give Mia a hug.

Letty nodded at the younger woman. "Let's go."

00

**A/N: Well, this took a bit longer than expected, but the good news is that I'm almost done with the next chapter as well, which is mostly a short flashback piece. And this is fairly long, so hopefully you'll forgive me for the wait. Thanks so much for everyone taking time to review. If I haven't gotten back to you, I still appreciate it! Reviews make me very happy!**


	6. Chapter 6

**An End and a Beginning**

_**Life Unaccounted For Universe: Part 6**_

**Summary: Part One of a series of one-shots in an AU setting inspired by a picture I found and put in the top corner.**

**Disclaimer: Hahaha, I wish! I own nothing.**

**A/N: Sorry for the repost. I found a few mistakes that glared at me so I wanted to fix them – nothing major. Have a happy Turkey Day!**

"Well, tonight wasn't all that bad, was it?" Mia asked, handing Letty a cup of tea before sitting at the other end of the couch with her own. "I mean, we got through a whole night without Vince singing 'Oh, Susana' and your mom slapping him – for the first time in _years_."

Letty snickered. "I was kinda looking forward to that."

Mia grinned behind her cup. "I bet you were. You think after all these years he'd know better."

"It's Vince", Letty snickered. "He's got a slow learning curve."

0

Letty sighed as her head hit the pillow that night. Her heart felt shredded. Her break up with Trevor _hurt_, despite the fact that it had been her idea_._ And even if she didn't want to admit it, she knew that it also spiked residual pain from her decision to break up with Dom all those years ago. She didn't regret the decision she made then; she hadn't wanted to hurt him. She had been a wreck emotionally. Letty realized now that she had been naïve, thinking that absolving him of his responsibility for her well-being would stop him from worrying.

If her mother hadn't stepped in, maybe she would have found her feet in their relationship eventually, or she would have continued her spiral. 'Post-partum depression' the therapist in Miami had diagnosed her with – common for young mothers with unplanned pregnancies.

She groaned and flipped over, trying to shut her brain off. She hated feeling weak. And it didn't matter who told her the situation had been out of her control, she still had a hard time letting it go – especially since she had lost one of the most important people in her life. Sure, she still saw Dominic nearly every day – way too much for separated parents – but everything was different. They lived behind masks and façade, guarding their emotions in a way they had never had to before.

Letty remembered when they used to be happy, when they were allowed to be free with their affection. She remembered when they only needed a few words and touches to soothe anger or hurt…

_00 Two years before Letty got pregnant 00_

_At nineteen, Dom had spent the past eight months making a name for himself on the underground racing scene. And with his talent, he was quickly rising into the ranks of the best. Now, his father wouldn't be all that thrilled that this was how he chose to use his natural talent for driving, but the adrenaline was becoming a sort of addiction._

_He was set to race in five minutes, as long as they weren't interrupted. Dom took a minute to look up from two leggy blondes that were flirting at him. He found Vince quickly, in much the same predicament as he was. It took him a bit longer to set eyes on Letty._

_He frowned slightly. Apparently she had her own group of admirers. Granted it was only Hector and some of his buddies, but Dom wasn't blind. At seventeen, Letty had more than a few eyes following her. She acted like she didn't notice, but he wasn't always sure about that._

_They had flirted for several months before he had asked her out officially. It had been nearly a year since then. Letty had always been headstrong – even when her mother had forced her to wear a dress and pigtails when she was a child. Susana had acknowledged a forfeit when Letty came back from playing with the dress sash tied around her forehead like a biker's bandana. His mouth quirked upwards at the memory._

_She was one in a million. His only complaint was that she was __**all the way over there**__. And he didn't even seem to register as a thought in her mind even with the Double Mint Twins pressed against him. He brooded until he was told it was his turn._

_He got into his car and was startled by a tap on his window. It was Letty. He rolled his window down. "Can I help you? I'm a little busy", he said sarcastically._

_Her eyebrows furrowed. "I was gonna give you a good luck kiss. What's your problem?"_

"_Nothing", he muttered._

_She made an irritated face, and leaned in the car quickly to kiss his cheek anyway. "Relax. You race like shit when you're tense."_

_0_

_Dom won the race despite himself. But when Hector invited them to a party, the look on Letty's face clearly said that if he went out to party tonight, there would be hell to pay once he got back home._

_He wisely declined. Letty may be irritated now, but putting off their argument for him to have a few drinks while her anger turned into a steady, simmering boil would guarantee prolonged pain and suffering for him when he finally came home._

_Letty drove her own car home when they dispersed, and she was waiting in the kitchen drinking from a bottle of water when he arrived with Vince behind him. She scowled at them when the door slammed._

"_Tony's asleep. Would you two knuckleheads __**shut it**__", she hissed._

_Vince grinned at her, ruffling her hair as he stole her water and drank the rest of it, not quite dodging the hit she swung at his chest. "Thanks", he teased throwing the empty bottle away before walking towards the basement door. "I'm goin' to bed."_

_She rolled her eyes and grabbed another water from the fridge. Letty passed Dominic silently to go upstairs. Dom flicked off the lights with a sigh and followed her._

_She was sitting on the middle of his bed when he shut the door behind him._

"_So", Letty arched an eyebrow, "Are you going to tell me what your problem is, or are we playing Twenty Questions?"_

_He stared at her incredulously for a split second before apparently remembering that she couldn't always read his mind. "What the hell was that shit tonight, Letty?"_

_Her eyes widened. "Excuse me? What did I do?"_

"_Nothing", he growled. "You did fucking nothing."_

_Letty blinked. "I did nothing… and you're pissed? Look, Dom, you're gonna have to spell it out for me here, because I've got no idea what you're going on about. What was I supposed to do?" she asked carefully._

_He sighed harshly, "Never mind. Just forget it." Dom reached for the door, intending to go to the bathroom to get ready for bed when Letty stood up and walked across the room to stand in front of him._

"_Hold it", she demanded seriously. "You can't just throw that shit at me and then tell me to forget about it because you don't want to talk. You've got a problem with me, you'd better tell in the next five seconds or I'm walking out the front door."_

"_Letty-"_

"_Why are you angry at me?" she repeated calmly._

"_I'm not angry at you", he said finally._

_She snorted. "Bullshit. Try again."_

"_I'm not angry at you", he repeated more seriously. "I'm pissed at myself for expecting you to know what I wanted without having to say anything. You didn't do anything wrong, Letty."_

_Her head tilted curiously. "What did you want from me tonight that I didn't give you?"_

"_I just wanted you with me tonight, Let, that's all."_

_Letty scrunched her eyebrows thoughtfully. "Are we fighting because I was talking to Hector?"_

"_Let, I had Trixie and Minnie hanging on me like leeches, and you didn't even take a second glance", he said exasperatedly._

_**Oh.**__**Well, now that they were finally on the same page…**__ Her mouth quirked into an amused smirk. "That's not their names", she chuckled._

"_I don't really give a fuck", he growled._

"_What did you want me to do? Chase them away with a fly swatter?"_

"_Sorta", he admitted._

_She rolled her eyes. "You're a big boy, Dom. If you didn't want the slut twins hanging on you, you shoulda shaken them off. You can't put that on me."_

"_So, what you're saying is that you aren't jealous, and you don't care that I have more groupie girls than a rock band", he said flatly._

_She blinked. "Could you sound any more like a douche bag?" she asked finally._

"_**Letty-**__" he started again, voice rising in anger._

_She interrupted before he could get any more pissed off, deciding to give him a straight answer. "I'm not worried so much if your eyes wander - as long as your hands don't", she arched an eyebrow pointedly, taking his hands and settling them on her hips. "Got that?"_

_He grinned, letting his left hand slide to her backside, right hand reaching up to tweak her chin. "I can live with that."_

_Letty smirked. "Admit it. I had you worried for there for a hot minute. You thought I didn't care."_

_He leaned down and kissed her mouth roughly. "Cocky bitch", he mumbled against her lips._

_She pulled back slightly, looking amused. "I'm cocky because I know you're mine? You bet your ass, Papa." Her head tilted to the side, taking on a serious look. "I'm always gonna care, Dom", she said softly. "I just won't let it make me crazy. Whatcha want me to do anyway? Wrap myself around you like a damn pretzel every time we go out?"_

_He looked her up and down before yanking her against him playfully and picking her up by the waist. "I'll settle for you wrapping your legs around my waist right now so I can take your ass to bed."_

_She did and leaned over to nip his ear as he carried her back to his bed. "Looks like you and I are having a __**private**__ party tonight then", she murmured._

_He laid her out on the comforter and crawled over her, pulling at the zipper of her pants. "Damn right we are."_

_0_

_Awhile later, they lay under the sheet together, the air cooling their sweat-slicked skin. Letty was sprawled half on top of him, chest pressed against his side, and her left leg slung carefully across his right hip. Her eyes fluttered closed when she felt Dom's hand in her hair, and she took a few minutes to indulge in the feeling before she leaned up on her elbow._

"_I don't wanna be that girl, Dom", she said seriously. "Those stupid girls who chase after their men with a leash to keep them in line when they should just dump the asshole… I don't want that to be our relationship. You and me- we're strong people. I'm __**never**__ gonna be the damsel in distress, and you won't ever be a hen-pecked husband-"_

"_Husband?" he interrupted with a chuckle. "You've got us married already, Let?"_

_She groaned and flicked his nipple, trying not to grin at the hiss of pain and they way his muscles contracted underneath her for a brief second. "It was a figure of speech, jackass. You think we're seriously gonna be able to put up with each other's shit for the rest of our lives?" she asked curiously._

"_If not me and you, then who?" he raised an eyebrow._

"_Gimme a few years to find someone", she teased._

_He scowled and popped her on the ass. "That's not funny."_

_She laughed. "It's a little funny. Come on. I'm seventeen, and you're already trying to tie me down." He smirked, and then laughed when her face flushed slightly and she elbowed his side. "Get your head outta the gutter, Toretto."_

"_You know, most girls would get all gooey and clingy if a guy said they wanted to spend forever with them", he pointed out._

"_I'm not like any other girl", she said seriously. "If I was, you wouldn't have even brought it up. And you need to stop getting all suspicious just because I don't hound your ass. I'm low on ulterior motives right now. You'll know when you need to be worried."_

_Dominic groaned exasperatedly. "You're just trying to be difficult", he accused._

_Letty grinned and moved to straddle his hips. "Are you gonna do somethin' about that?"_

_He grabbed her firmly before flipping so she was under him, and he rubbed against her, watching her head tilt back further into the pillows. "Are you going to do something about __**this**__?" he teased._

00

**A/N: Yay! A little flashback piece for you all! Enjoy and review! Hope you liked it. There might be another flashback in the next chapter. I have a small idea to tinker with. **


	7. Chapter 7

**An End and a Beginning**

_**Life Unaccounted For Universe: Part 7**_

**Summary: Part One of a series of one-shots in an AU setting inspired by a picture I found and put in the top corner.**

**Disclaimer: Hahaha, I wish! I own nothing.**

Monday:

Letty flipped through the paperwork Dom just handed her, and she looked up with an unprofessional scowl. "Really?" she grumbled, "A Prius? Are you trying to make me go home?"

He smirked."Would I do that?"

"Yes. You've suddenly become passive aggressive", she pointed out ironically.

"Hey, the old tactics don't exactly work anymore, do they?" he said wryly. "It might be time to try something different."

She glared almost playfully. "I'm going to have a headache by the time you're done tormenting me, aren't I?" Letty sighed.

"You could just make it easy on me", Dom pointed out with amusement.

She turned to start on car, scoffing over her shoulder, "Yeah, right – like that'll happen."

00

Sunday:

Letty had discreetly kidnapped Vince to help her with her errand.

He followed her with his own car – she wasn't sure how much stuff she had to pick up. She guided them across town to a house with a gated driveway. She stopped to punch in the code, and the gates opened. Letty pulled her car up the wide driveway and gestured for Vince to park behind her. She popped the trunk of her car and got out.

Vince was standing next to his car looking incredulous. "Wanna explain to me why this house looks like it could be on the _Fresh Prince_?"

She winced. "Yeah… so Trevor has some money", she muttered. "He inherited this house from his grandfather."

"And you dumped him."

"Vince-"

He waved her off. "I don't want to get into shit, Letty. You did what you had to do. Just- you have to fucking _tell us_ when you need something, okay? We're here for you, but we aren't mind readers."

"I know. Look, can we just get this done?" she asked quietly.

Letty turned off the alarm and let them into the house. She found six boxes piled up in the foyer with a familiar toy sitting on top.

"Hey, it's Señor Frog!" Vince said obviously.

"Damn, we've been looking all over for that", Letty muttered going to pick it up. "Must have been behind one of the couches or under the bed…" Under the frog was a note written on yellow legal paper. She glanced through it briefly, and found the only thing that was important for today. He asked her to leave her house key in the breadbox, and if he found anything else of hers, he would send it over.

_They were definitely over._

She shook it off to deal with later. "Let's get this stuff in the cars."

It didn't even take a full twenty minutes to pack up what she had thought we be a new beginning in her life. She felt like not only had she stopped in the middle of what could have been a good book and burned it outright, but had also gone back with determination to reread a book she didn't like very much in the first place. It was an uncomfortable and awkward feeling. It left her with questions that she wasn't anywhere near ready to ask herself, much less answer.

Letty cranked up her stereo as they drove back to her apartment, trying to drown out her thoughts.

She and Vince got finished unloading her boxes quickly, stacking them in her living room. "Well, that's it then", she said flatly.

Vince nudged her with his elbow. "Nothing a stiff drink and some common sense won't fix, chica", he teased.

She laughed despite herself. "Don't start that again. You wouldn't make a good Cupid."

"What? You sayin' I can't pull off some pink wings and a bow and arrow?" he grinned.

She snorted. "Give me a ride back to Dom's. Mia has Aiden over there." Letty followed him out, grabbing the stuffed frog and locking the deadbolt behind her. Then she had to reach over to smack Vince's head when she heard him start humming 'Here Comes the Bride'.

"Ow!"

"Asshole", she muttered.

0

Letty followed Vince into the Toretto house. She could hear her son screeching from all the way upstairs, mixed with Mia's laughter. She grinned. _Bath time._

"Sounds like we missed some fun", Vince chuckled, heading to grab two beers from the fridge and passed it to her.

"It does", she murmured wistfully.

"Aw, don't do that", Vince whined.

She raised her eyebrows. "Do what?"

"Get all mopey", he clarified.

"I'm _not_ moping!" she hissed.

"Mhm, your forehead gets all scrunchy", he nodded.

"Good grief", she groaned.

Vince frowned. "Letty, I know it sucks-"

"No, you know what sucks?" she growled angrily. "I can't even read a goddamn Dr. Seuss book without nearly _crying_. I am so sick of this shit, V."

He eyed her warily, "Time for that stiff drink now?"

"I knew I should have driven my own car", she muttered. "I am _so _not in the mood to play nice with others right now."

Vince went to the pantry and pulled the bottle of whiskey off the top shelf and poured two fingers full into a tumbler and put the bottle back. He passed her the glass. "Sit down and drink it", he ordered calmly.

She went to the kitchen table and pulled out a chair, settling in it and bringing the glass to her lips before pausing. "Don't tell Mia", she warned, finishing off the liquor in three and a half gulps, ignoring the burn.

He took the glass from her, rinsing it out and hiding it in the dishwasher, and then looked at her sternly, pointing a finger in her direction. "Don't make me regret that."

She smiled. Aiden came bouncing down the stairs before she had to respond with anything intelligent. He flew to her, like he had nearly swallowed a ball of excitement. "Mom!"

Letty bent down to hug him tightly, standing and letting his legs dangle, swinging like wet noodles as he laughed. "Hey, buddy. You smell clean. It looks like someone got a bath", she laughed as Dom came down the stairs, nodding at her with a poorly stifled grin. She rolled her eyes.

"Daddy says I'm so clean I squeak!"

Letty grinned. "I'm sure you do. What did you do today?"

"Daddy went with me and Aunt Mia to the beach! We made a sand castle, then he let me bury him in the sand", he grinned. "Then we had to dig him out because the water got higher, and when we came home he said he had sand in awkward places."

Letty snorted in amusement, and looked over at Dom who was pulling things out of the fridge for dinner. "Didn't you learn your lesson the last time _we_ played on the beach?" she asked mirthfully.

He smirked, "Apparently not."

"Daddy let you bury him in the sand too?" Aiden wondered curiously.

"Something like that", Letty murmured vaguely. "Hey, guess what I found today" she said, remembering what she had brought with her. She pulled the stuffed frog from the top of her purse and waved it in the air.

"My frog!"

"You want it then?" she teased. "What do you say?"

"Thanks, Mom", he said, grabbing for it.

She gave in with a laugh. "You're welcome. Go put a shirt on. It looks like it's almost dinner time."

Dom waited until Aiden was heading for his bedroom before he spoke. "Where'd you find that thing? It's been missing for a month."

Letty made a face. "It was at Trevor's", she said quietly. "That's why I kidnapped Vince. He was out of town this weekend and I went to get our stuff. He had it all boxed up. Señor Frog was on top of the pile."

"I'm sorry things didn't work out the way you wanted, Let."

"No you're not." She shook her head. "It's okay though. It wasn't meant to be."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Vince gave me whiskey", she admitted with a shrug.

He rolled his eyes. "That makes way more sense than your sudden psychological take on life."

She stuck her tongue out. "You need help?"

"You can't cook _sober_", Dom reminded, slightly amused.

"_Right_", she sighed, getting up and heading out the back door. "I need some air."

00

_Dominic remembers the first time he had told her he loved her. _

_She was almost eighteen, and his dad had given them the afternoon off, so they had headed for the ocean – not the tourist-y part of the beach with all the screaming kids. Letty's favorite place to go was the pier where all the boats were docked. It was near a place that had amazing shrimp, so it was really a win-win._

_They stopped and ate lunch before putting their shoes in the car to walk barefoot in the sand. By the time they got to the vendors, Letty's shorts were wet from Dom dropping into a wave. Her yelling had scared the seagulls away for about five minutes while he had laughed his ass off until she went after him, running until she caught up with him and jumped on his back._

_He had carried her back the way they came to buy them both ice cream cones hers Rocky Road and his mint chocolate chip. They began walking again, and sometime between looking for pretty sea shells and drawing stick figures in the sand doing inappropriate things, he had blurted it out._

_Letty had just raised a skeptical eyebrow in his direction and then smirked. "So... what? Am I supposed to call you my boyfriend now? Way to up the cheese-factor in our lives, Dom. And for future reference, if you piss me off, you'd better buy me some customs rims or something, 'cause roses aren't gonna cut it", she added helpfully._

_He couldn't help grinning at her. "I'll keep that in mind." Dom reached over to tug on her ponytail lightly as they continued walking, and she made it a point to bump him with her shoulder._

"_Love you too", she muttered, burying a grin as she reached over to steal a bite of his ice cream cone._

_He dodged her playfully, acting affronted. "You can't just say it to eat my food", he groused._

"_I'm not, it's just a bonus."_

_He rolled his eyes and handed her his cone to finish as they continued walking._

_When they got back to the car, he opened her door for her, and she pulled him down for a kiss. "I meant it, you know", she said quietly when they parted. "I love you, Dom."_

_Dominic peered down at her scrutinizingly. "Enough to let me finish my own damn ice cream next time?" he asked seriously._

_She snorted, sliding into the seat. "You wish."_

_He grinned and pushed the door closed._

00

**A/N: OMG, I know, I know. I suck. This took forever to write. Hopefully you liked it enough to make up for the wait. It's a little short, but I'm back on track now hopefully. I have some things planned. Let me know if you catch any errors – I went light on editing. Drop me a line. Tell me what you think. Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**An End and a Beginning**

_**Life Unaccounted For Universe: Part 8**_

**Summary: Part One of a series of one-shots in an AU setting inspired by a picture I found and put in the top corner.**

**Disclaimer: Hahaha, I wish! I own nothing.**

It was Wednesday of the following week, Letty's day off. Aiden was still at school, and Dominic was going to pick him up and keep him overnight. So she spent the day running errands she had put off during the week – like grocery shopping and doing five loads of laundry. And she went to the craft store to hunt down a few glass bottles with corks.

Letty was sitting at the kitchen table with her project, ziti baking in the oven when Mia came home from her last class at six-thirty.

"Letty?" Mia asked warily, walking through the apartment with her bag of books in tow.

"In here", she called back absently.

"What smells good?" Mia raised an eyebrow as she entered the dining area.

Letty smirked. It had been a running joke in their family for years that she couldn't even boil water without scorching the pan, but there were a few cooking lessons that had stuck. "Ziti", she answered. "It should be done in about ten minutes."

Mia grinned. "Bless you. I'm starving. Aiden is with Dom?"

"Mhm", she nodded absently, writing a date on a small, round colored sticker.

"Uh, Let? What are you doing?" Mia laughed.

"What?" Letty muttered, slightly affronted. "I can be crafty."

Mia giggled. "I didn't say you couldn't. What are you _doing?_"

"Sand, bottle", she held the items up. "It's not exactly rocket science, Mi."

"Why are you pouring sand in a bottle?" Mia eyed the bag of sand she was dumping into the funnel dubiously.

"It's for Aiden", Letty said exasperatedly.

"From when we went to the beach the other day?"

"Yeah."

Mia smiled fondly. "You're an amazing mom, Let. And sometimes you still manage to surprise me."

"Ugh, cut the mush", Letty chuckled. "And check the ziti."

"You cooked- as much as I love ziti… is something wrong?"

"Why does something have to be wrong?"

"You like cooking when you need to keep busy", Mia said with a raised eyebrow as she pulled the large pan out of the oven.

"So?"

"Look, I know you get into a funk when we do stuff with Aiden without you", she said softly. "You feel like you miss out on him growing up. Granted, it could be a lot worse. Let, Dom feels the same way. You have to know that."

Letty shrugged. "Things are the way they are. I can't change it."

"My brother still loves you", Mia said seriously.

"Leave it, Mia", Letty groaned.

"I can't. I'm tired of seeing both of you act like you're not miserable!"

"No one's miserable, Mi", Letty rolled her eyes.

"I _live_ here", Mia reminded. "You can't keep up your defenses forever."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Letty looked up in time to see Mia's nostrils flare. "_Letty_", she practically growled.

"_What_, Mia?"

"You may be okay being miserable for the rest of your life, but do you want that for Dom? At some point, Letty, he's going to get over you, or at least he'll decide not to wait any more. Are you going to be okay when that time comes and he brings home another woman?"

"I wouldn't have the right to be anything otherwise, now would I?" Letty raised both eyebrows. "I walked down a fucking aisle, Mia. And he let me."

"What happens if we go to family dinner one night and Dominic has a woman sitting at the table with him?" Mia tried again, changing tactics.

"Then I jump over the table and rip her blonde head off", Letty deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

"Why didn't you marry Trevor?"

"_Mia_", Letty hissed warningly.

The girl just snorted. "Just answer the damn question for once."

Letty's elbows banged the table as she dropped her head into her hands roughly. "I loved him", she said quietly. "I really did… and he loved Aiden. We didn't have that… _electricity_ between us though. I thought it was okay. Every relationship is different – that's what people say, right? Dom and I were always kind of volatile. I thought I could live without those feelings; that we would work. But I _know_ love, Mia. And what I felt for Trevor… it wasn't the right kind. I thought it would be enough, but it wasn't. And you have no idea how much that hurts."

Mia flinched, hearing the tears choking her voice and moved to crouch in front of the chair to hug her tightly. "Shh", she muttered. "Make me feel like an evil bitch for making you cry, why don't you?"

Letty snorted against her shoulder. "Shut up."

"I _know_ you still love my brother… and he loves you. You both deserve a second chance. I just don't know why you don't believe you deserve one", she sighed and pulled back slightly.

"There's too much at stake if we fuck this up again, Mia", Letty shook her head. "And if we were going to fix this… we should have done it a long time ago. And I was too stubborn."

"Maybe", Mia acknowledged softly, tugging on her friend's hair. "Just know that you would make me a very happy sister-in-law", she teased gently.

Letty smirked. "You just want to plan a huge wedding."

"I love you, Letty. No matter what. I just want you to be happy."

"I know, I know. I love you too. Now let's eat before the food get's cold."

00

On Saturday, the garage was busier than usual, and they all worked their asses off. Mia had taken Aiden to the store with her for the morning, and Leon had swung by to pick him up around six on his way back from a parts run to Harry's. Aiden loved going to visit them at work; he liked when someone explained to him how an engine worked, or something simple like and oil change.

Tony often joked that considering his parents, Aiden probably had a good mix of oil and NOS in his bloodstream.

They were closing down for the night, and Letty had managed to finish the tune-up for the Toyota she had been working on, and she closed the hood with a bang, first making sure there were no little fingers in the way.

"Mom, are we still going to the park tomorrow?"

Letty looked down at her son, head tilting playfully. "That's the plan. It's going to be nice outside."

"Can Daddy come with us?"

She crouched down in front of him. "Sounds like a good idea… why don't you go ask him?"

Aiden was gone before she could even stand up straight, and she could hear his voice over the rest of the noise, even if she couldn't make out the words. She saw Dom's questioning look in her direction, and she nodded, smiling slightly.

Seconds later, Dom had Aiden over his shoulder and she heard her son hollering, "Mommy and Daddy are taking me to the park tomorrow!"

Letty headed towards her locker to gather her things, blinking away the stinging behind her eyes._ Kids could be so easy to please sometimes. If only it was always that easy._

00

**A/N: Okay! New chapter finally! Just for danidani, who was still poking me for an update for this even with all my one-shots. So, you're welcome. Tee-hee. I didn't exactly edit this, so I'll probably check it over tomorrow. Let me know if you catch anything annoying. =) I just wanted to freaking post already! Let me know what you think.**


	9. Chapter 9

**An End and a Beginning**

_**Life Unaccounted For Universe: Part 9**_

**Summary: Part One of a series of one-shots in an AU setting inspired by a picture I found and put in the top corner.**

**Disclaimer: Hahaha, I wish! I own nothing.**

Dom was sitting on top of a picnic table at the park watching Letty chase their son around the playground area. She stayed a few steps behind him until they got to an open area then dived after Aiden to scoop him up and spun them around until they were both dizzy and Aiden was giggling madly.

He grabbed his cell phone and managed to capture the perfect picture as she stopped, still holding their son against her to get enough balance back before setting him down. Her head thrown back, eyes sparkling as they both laughed.

_She was beautiful._

He laughed under his breath as she set Aiden down and they both stumbled dizzily towards the swing set.

His phone vibrated as he got a text from his sister.

_What are you doing?_

He snorted. Like he didn't know exactly what that was about.

_You knew our plans yesterday, Mia. Quit fishing._

_I love you_, she texted back with an innocent smiley face.

He smirked and put his phone back into his pocket as Letty came jogging in his direction. "Holy shit, I'm exhausted", she panted. "Why did I think this was a good idea?" Dominic just grinned at her. "I think it's your turn", Letty said pointedly, grabbing her purse off the table.

"Yeah?" he chuckled. "C'mon, let's go."

"It feels like we've been here six _days_. What time is it?" she muttered, following him back to the swing set.

"We've been here an hour", he raised his eyebrow. "And weren't you going to bring him yourself?"

"I would have made Mia come with me", she smirked. "Besides, I didn't have time for coffee this morning."

"Poor baby", he teased.

"Daddy, come push me!"

Letty grinned, "Told you it was your turn."

0

They stayed at the park until after four-thirty, and Dom suggested they go track down something for dinner, and the three of them piled back into his car. He drove them to the pier, and they ended up with corn dogs and waffle fries for dinner and sat down to eat at a picnic table. Normally they had a firm vegetable policy, but every once in a while they let it go.

Aiden, of course, had still not gotten to the end of his energy reserve, and was rambling about some kids he had played with at the park. Dom and Letty traded half-incredulous looks. They had yet to figure out how the two of them had managed to create such a talkative child.

Letty finally interrupted when the kid stopped to breathe. "So, school's out in a month. What do you want to do this summer?"

Aiden got more excited, if that was possible. "Oh! We can go to the beach, and chase the ice cream truck-"

"Uncle Vince will help you chase the ice cream truck", Dom said with a smirk.

"- and have water balloon fights, and go to the pool", Aiden continued rambling.

"I was thinking", Dom nudged her.

She raised an amused eyebrow. "Were you?"

He gave her a mock glare which made her chuckle before continuing. "_I was thinking_", he repeated. "We should go buy one of those adult-sized inflatable pools and put it in the backyard."

She blinked, a slow lazy grin crossing her face. "Do I get to spend all summer working on my tan?"

"Like hell would I say no to you spending three months in my backyard in a bikini", he rolled his eyes.

She let out a surprised laugh, "Valid point." _If she didn't know any better, she'd think he might be flirting with her._

"You gonna come help me get one?"

Letty shrugged, "Yeah, sure. Why not?"

0

To end the day, they stopped for ice cream cones on the way home. Letty shot Dominic an incredulous look when he said they could just eat them in the car, but he just shrugged.

"It's your car", she muttered, rolling her eyes. But when they stopped to grab them, she hopped in the backseat to make sure Aiden didn't drop his if they went over a bump.

_God knows she didn't let Aiden eat in her car unless it was an emergency. The kid ate like a Tasmanian Devil sometimes._

Dom drove them back to the apartment listening to the two of them behind him, and tried not to laugh. He parked next to Letty's car and let Aiden unbuckle.

Letty crawled out of the backseat after their son, got a good look at him, and started laughing. "Oh, _man_. You need a bath, kiddo."

"I'm all sticky", Aiden grinned proudly.

Dominic scooped him up, holding him over his shoulder like an airplane making Aiden laugh hysterically. "I'm on it", he said dryly.

"I'm pretty sure it's on _you_", Letty retorted mildly. "Alright, come on."

Letty let Dom have bath time, not just because she was exhausted. She grinned, hearing the happy sounds echoing through her apartment, and went to lay out her son's pajamas. _Was Dom making monster noises?_

Twenty minutes later, when Letty was putting things together for Aiden's lunch the next day, Dom came out holding Aiden who was sleepily holding Señor Frog and in his pajamas.

"Hey, buddy. All ready for bed?" she asked.

"I think we actually wore him out", Dom said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but come six tomorrow morning, he'll be bouncing on my bed to wake me up", Letty rolled her eyes.

"Mama, can Daddy tuck me in?" he asked sleepily.

She nodded. "You bet. I want a kiss first though." She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek and ruffle his hair. "I'll see you in the morning."

A while later, Dominic came back into the living room where she was flipping through television channels. Letty had finished her list of tasks the day before, and only needed to shower and fall into bed. "How many books did he sucker you into reading?" she teased.

"Three", he admitted grudgingly.

"So…"

"I should go", he said quietly.

Letty pushed herself off the couch with a sigh as he opened the door, "Okay."

He stepped out but paused before she closed the door. "Hey."

She raised an eyebrow. "What?

"Today was nice. We should do it again some time."

She smiled slightly nodded once. "Yeah… we should."

He leaned down and brushed her cheek with his lips so quickly she might have missed it if her eyes were closed. Then he was out the door, and she saw Mia in the hallway. Letty groaned under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, Mia."

"My, god", Mia complained as she threw her shoes in the closet. "You guys are so damn slow, it actually hurts."

"We have a _child_", Letty growled. "And right now, we're doing the best we can. Neither of us wants to make it any more complicated than it has to be. There's no magical switch to flip here, Mia. Please stay out of it." She went for her bedroom before she said something she couldn't take back, and locked her door for good measure.

Trial and error had got them this far. By the time their son was learning words, they had more or less gotten their shit figured out as far as co-parenting went. Letty could admit now - even if it was only to herself - that she had taken the easy way out, letting them stay broken.

They didn't hate each other, far from it. But her being around Dominic without being _with_ him, could be almost physically painful sometimes. She wondered what it might cost her later to have spent the day with her guard down.

00

_Roughly six months before Letty got pregnant:_

_It was a Friday evening at the beginning of summer, and Dom was spending it with his friends around a fire pit on the beach. It wasn't a racing party, so it was just some of their closer friends and Hector's crew._

_Dom was talking with Vince and a few of Hector's cousins near a cooler of beer. When Dom asked Vince the same question for the third time and realized he was staring at something, he tilted his head in that direction. He saw Letty dancing with Edwin near the bonfire and sighed._

_Dom reached out to cuff the back of his friend's head. "Stop staring at Letty's ass!"_

_Vince grinned shamelessly, but focused elsewhere, "Can't help it, man. Girl's got rhythm."_

"_I'm aware", Dominic said wryly. "Should I go tell her you're perving on her?"_

_Vince snorted. "I ain't scared of her. Besides, she's having fun. And Edwin might be having more fun."_

"_Yeah, I think I'm going to go interrupt that", Dom smirked._

"_Have fun man", Hector said easily, clapping his friend on the shoulder._

"_And you try not to have too much fun", Dom said with a laugh before heading down the beach. He slid behind Letty, wrapping an arm around her waist and trading a fist bump with Edwin over her shoulder. "Mind if cut in and get a dance with my girl?"_

_Edwin just grinned. "No problem, dawg. See ya, Let."_

_Letty nodded at him and tilted her head up to kiss Dom's jaw playfully. "Miss me?" she teased as Edwin walked away, and she was spun around._

"_You know I did", he dipped down to tease a kiss from her mouth and then gripped her thighs, hoisting her up against him. Her arms went around his neck and she wrapped her legs around her waist. "You wanna come take a walk with me?" he grinned._

_She cocked an eyebrow, liking her vantage point of being able to look down at him. "Do I actually have to walk?" she laughed._

"_You want me to carry you on our walk?" Dom asked, sounding amused._

_She smirked. "We both know we're only getting out of sight before you start pawing my clothes off."_

"_Busted", he growled playfully. He set her down gently and turned for her to hop on his back._

_Letty pointed over his shoulder down the beach. "That way", she ordered decisively._

"_You got it."_

00

**A/N: Yay for a quick update! Thanks for all the reviews so far! You guys are awesome. And I'm already working on chapter ten so it should be up by the end of next week.**


	10. Chapter 10

**An End and a Beginning**

_**Life Unaccounted For Universe: Part 10**_

**Summary: Part One of a series of one-shots in an AU setting inspired by a picture I found and put in the top corner.**

**Disclaimer: Hahaha, I wish! I own nothing.**

_A few weeks after the last chapter:_

The work day had started off normally, and it had almost ended normally too, until a Jaguar pulled up to the shop that afternoon. Upon quick inspection, Tony had decided it needed a new set of brakes and a fan belt replaced.

That would have been the end of it, and they would have gotten the car back to its owner the following day, but then the guy hit on Letty. Let's just say Dom missed the days when Letty would rebuff a guy's advances by punching them in the face. It was one of the few times he regretted how much she had softened over the years.

He would catch hell for it later, but he slid up behind her as she chatted with the guy anyways. "Hey, hun, it's about time for you to go pick up _our son_ from school."

The guy had been properly intimidated, but it had started the argument of the year. Letty stormed out of the garage. Dom called Mia and asked her to get Aiden from Letty and take him back to the Toretto house.

Dominic finished the car he was working on while waiting for the 'all clear' text from Mia, then headed to Letty's apartment.

0

"Dammit, Let!" Dom complained as she threw one of her heels at him. "Do you always gotta be such a fucking hot-head?"

"Hot-headed?" she snarled incredulously. "_Me? _Well, isn't that just the pot calling the kettle black", Letty hissed sarcastically.

"I'm not the one throwing things", he said mildly.

She scowled. "That's because you know if you do, the next thing I'll be _throwing out of here_ will be _you_!"

"I asked you a simple question and you flew off the handle."

"Don't patronize me", she spat. "And I don't answer to you. Besides, we had an agreement", Letty said tightly. "You do _not_ just get to barge in here whenever you feel like it. I swear, if your sister didn't live here, you wouldn't even have a key. _That_ was only contingent upon you not invading my privacy!"

He snorted. "We shared a bedroom, Letty. Don't tell me you've suddenly gotten uptight about your bras hanging in the shower."

"_We broke up!_"

"Yeah, and whose fault is that?"

"Get out", she ordered with a glare that could have frozen over an avalanche.

"Shit, Letty-"

"Don't say you didn't mean it", she said flatly. "Or I swear, the next thing I throw won't be aimed at your head. Dominic, get out."

He left, pulling the door closed with a bang. She lunged for it, turning the deadbolt before he got his second wind. _What the hell were they arguing about?_

0

Later, when Letty finally cooled off and got her head back, she sent Dom a text.

_You're such a dick. I grew up in a garage and drag racing. Do you really think I'd go for a trust fund baby with a Jag? Asshole._

Letty didn't think his text that only said '_Sorry_' was a satisfactory response, but she let it go, deciding to go scrub down the bathrooms before Mia came back with Aiden. Summer was coming soon, and it would have its own set of problems

00

_So, yeah. Her first time had been in the backseat of Dom's car. Would anyone __**really**__ find that shocking? Letty didn't think so – except for her mother, who might just keel over if she found out. But, she wasn't going to tell anyone, so… there was that. And the hickey he had left on her neck._

_The real shocking part was that his car was parked behind a rundown strip mall in the __**Valley**__ that had been relocated to bigger and better places. Later, Letty wouldn't be able to say if they were on their way to or from somewhere, but she knew they were late for dinner that night. That was mostly due to the fact that she had made them stop at her empty house to shower and for her to change clothes._

_Currently, Letty was straddling Dom's lap in the back of his car. Her shirt had already been confiscated and tossed on the floor near the beginning of their steamy make-out session. Her hair had been yanked free from her ponytail, and he had one hand twisted in it up to her scalp. It was going to take longer than she'd like to spend with her hairbrush later to repair the damage._

_Letty finally managed to separate their mouths long enough to take his shirt from him. Then she was crawling up on her knees while he licked his way across her chest and worked her shorts open. They were slipping halfway down her thighs, and she was about to move to get rid of them when he grabbed her hips, stilling her even as his lips attached to her neck._

"_Let", he mumbled against her skin. "We should slow down."_

"_Yeah, good luck with that", she laughed huskily as she went to get his pants open._

"_I'm serious."_

_She pulled back slightly. "What's wrong? Tell me you don't have a condom, and I'm going to-"_

"_No, I do", he sighed, dropping his forehead to her shoulder, relaxing slightly as her hand rubbed the back of his neck soothingly. He moved to look up at her. "Do you really want your first time to be in the back of my car?"_

_She shrugged. "Being in cars with you gets me hot. So what?"_

_He sighed exasperatedly. "Letty-"_

_She leaned down to shut him up with a kiss and then grinned at him playfully. "Dom, I know what I want… even if you don't. And I don't care where we are. Okay?"_

"_I'd be an idiot to argue with a half-naked girl who's sitting on top of me", he said wryly._

_She dug her nails into his side. "No. You're an idiot if you're going to argue with a half-naked __**me**__ on top of you. Any other bitches better get their asses tossed on the ground pronto. Get me?"_

_Dom smirked at her possessiveness, "Loud and clear, baby."_

_Later, when she looked back on the experience, she wouldn't remember the sharp, and then throbbing, pain of her first time. She remembered the way he looked down at her like she was the most important thing in his world… the way he held her tight enough underneath him that she felt safe enough to feel vulnerable. And she knew in that moment that no one would ever be able to love her as much as Dominic did, simply because he was one of the only people she could let see who she really was underneath her exterior._

_No matter what happened between them, or the fact that she had lost her virginity in a car, Letty would never regret that her first time had been with him._

00

On Aiden's last day of school, Dom and Letty both went to pick up Aiden from school. Technically, the day was over early, but by the time the parents had started arriving to pick up their children, the teachers had let most of the kids out to run loose on the playground and soccer field. A few parents attempted to collect their children, but it hadn't gone terribly well. The general consensus had been to let them run off their excess energy until they school day was actually over. The parents were left mostly on the sidelines to mingle.

Letty watched Aiden puff up proudly from his teacher's compliments when Mrs. Peterson went to talk to him. "So modest", she murmured wryly. "Just like his father."

"You weren't exactly born with a full helping of modesty yourself, _cara_", Dom smirked.

She just bit her lip and tried not to laugh, choosing to ignore the affectionate Italian word. He knew just enough to make her a little crazy, and he had taught her the words he knew when they were younger. Dom had gotten cocky with it when he realized that she got as riled up over him speaking Italian as he did when she spoke Spanish.

"So we're both to blame then?" she teased.

"I'd say so."

"We're in for it when puberty hits", Letty groaned.

Dominic made a distasteful face. "Well, damn", he muttered.

She laughed aloud. "You haven't thought that far ahead?" she asked curiously.

He shrugged. "Not for a while."

She nodded. "I get it. We'll have to decide in the next few months what to do for his birthday."

"He wants a puppy", Dom rolled his eyes.

Letty snorted. "Maybe in a few years… and you know if we get him a dog, it's staying with you."

"Thanks, Let", he said dryly.

"Unless it's a Chihuahua – or something I can smuggle into the apartment in my purse", she joked.

He laughed. "Quit it."

"What? You don't think I could pull off a purse dog?"

"I would pay money to see that", he said honestly, doing a poor job of containing his grin. "You could dress up like Paris Hilton for Halloween."

Her eyes rolled. "No thanks. I like the fact that my tits are real and not as big as my head", Letty muttered under her breath, mindful of their location.

"I never had any complaints", he growled.

She elbowed him. "Alright, knock it off – before the other parents start eavesdropping."

"Oh, crap", he whined under his breath.

Letty cocked an eyebrow. "What's your problem?"

"Felicia Simmons", he gestured discreetly.

"Single mom? Hits on you when you pick up Aiden?" she asked.

"Mia told you", he said flatly.

"Of course she did", Letty snickered.

"They should serve alcohol at these things."

"_At Elementary School?_" she asked with an incredulous laugh. "You want me to scare her off?"

"Can you _see_ her hair? It looks like it lost a fire fight."

"You'll have to explain to me what that means later… Do I have to be nice?"

"Do you want to do more school interviews?" he asked pointedly.

She frowned. "No, that wasn't fun. I had to wear a business suit and dress like my mother."

He chuckled and nudged her with his shoulder. "Just don't leave me alone or she'll be on me like white on rice."

"That explains her buzzard-like circling." Letty sighed and shook her head. "I miss being young and stupid, and punching people."

His arm slid around her shoulder and she leaned against his side. "How much longer before we can get out of here?"

Letty held up her wrist to check her watch. "Twenty minutes", she grumbled. "And then I'm going to go drink, float, and tan in the pool."

They had gone shopping two weeks ago, and managed to get the inflatable, grown-up sized pool together with a lot of cursing, but it had been worth it. Letty was already getting tan lines. And she was sure Aiden spent his last day at school completely hyper after her announcement at breakfast that they were going to go play at Daddy's house after school was over.

"You put all that stuff in my trunk this morning, right?" he asked.

"I got it under control. You've got the Sno-cone machine, don't you?"

"Yeah…"

"I want a blue one."

He just grinned against the top of her head. They could do the parenting thing. But they sure as hell didn't do it like anyone else.

00

**A/N: Yay! Two updates in one weekend… How many of you love me right now? Lol. Look at me, kicking them into summer gear already. And with a nice long chapter, too! Oh, things are on track nicely for me. I want a Sno-cone – or an Italian Ice from the ice cream truck which I'll be chasing with my nieces all summer. Can't wait!**


	11. Chapter 11

**An End and a Beginning**

_**Life Unaccounted For Universe: Part 11**_

**Summary: Part One of a series of one-shots in an AU setting inspired by a picture I found and put in the top corner.**

**Disclaimer: Hahaha, I wish! I own nothing.**

Summers working at the garage were hot as hell, even with the industrial-sized fans blowing. They basically just circulated the hot air. Mia helped them out a lot during the summer. She was only taking one fast-track summer class; and Dom and Letty either worked around her schedule or Aiden spent a bit of time at work with them.

Sundays had gone back to being family day, which were just as rambunctious as they had been when they were all growing up – if not more. Age hadn't slowed them down much – and if it did, they wouldn't admit it.

Tony was on the grill, her mom was in the kitchen helping Mia, and the guys were chasing Aiden around with huge water guns. Letty was dozing on a pink and orange floating chair in the pool with her sunglasses on, tuning out the noise around her.

Needless to say, she nearly had a heart attack to find herself dumped out of her chair and submerged by water. She stood up, sputtering and swiping her hair out of her face, blinking the water from her eyelashes and pushing her sunglasses on top of her head. "_Dominic_", she hissed when she heard him laughing behind her, and she spun around and sent a splash in his direction. "Where is our son before I attack you?" she growled.

He just grinned at her, "Ran inside."

Her fingers itched to smack him. "What the hell was that for?"

"Couldn't help myself", he admitted wryly.

"I could _throttle you_", she said tightly, hands fisting with the restraint it took to keep from jumping at him and attempting to dunk him under water.

He flicked water at her absently, eyes traveling over the top half of her body that was above water. "You look good wet."

"I could- if you", she groaned. "I quit", she grumbled, hoisting herself back onto the float. "Shut up and leave me alone or get out."

He laughed under his breath. "Fine, I'll leave your boring ass alone."

"_Boring?!_" she repeated incredulously, glaring at him sharply.

"You're napping at four-thirty in the afternoon. How old are you? Eighty?" he teased.

"Screw you", she muttered.

"Promise?"

"Are we getting to the part where you stop bothering me?"

"You're no fun anymore", he complained.

She chuckled. "Shit happens, baby. Get a shovel."

Dom smirked. "That's a new one."

"When's dinner?" she sighed.

"About half an hour", he answered, sounding amused.

"You aren't going to leave me alone, are you?"

"I wasn't planning on it."

"I figured", she grumbled.

00

Letty was helping Aiden pack up a few things to take to Dom's for the night. He had most important things in duplicates, like his toothbrush, a closet full of clothes, and some toys. There were a few things that got carted back and forth though –Aiden's stuffed frog Dom had won at the fair two years ago, and his backpack on week days. Sometimes the kid's shoes traded houses during the week.

She was digging in the toy chest for a stuffed monkey when her son asked her a question that made her freeze. She straightened up with a sigh, and went to sit next to him on the bed. _She really should have seen this coming. The kid was smart, and there was no way she was going to get by with the half-hearted explanation she had given originally._

Half an hour later, she was emotionally drained, but felt like she had fulfilled her parental duties, as far as was necessary on the subject. She found Mia in the kitchen.

"Mia, can you take Aiden?" she asked tightly. "He's ready to go."

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Can you- just take him please? We can talk when you come back."

Mia nodded. "Okay… you're not going to start breaking plates or something, are you?"

"No. I'm fine."

"Sure you are. I'll be back in forty minutes. Stay put", Mia ordered.

0

It had taken very little direction from her to get the answer she had wanted from her nephew.

_Aiden had asked about Trevor._

Letty had apparently done a decent job explaining the situation to her son, but Mia thought it would be best to get back home ASAP. If nothing else, her best friend just needed a shoulder to lean on for a bit. Mia knew it could take a while for the heart to heal no matter what the reason for the break-up. And even if it _was _the right thing to do, Letty was still a bit wounded.

Mia got them to the Toretto house and unloaded Aiden's bag, passed it to her brother and tried to make a hasty exit.

"Alright, what's wrong?"

Mia winced. _Sometimes it was really inconvenient that her brother could read her like a book._ "Nothing- Letty's just about to have a meltdown. I've got it handled." Then she was out the door and jogging to the car before he could question her further.

0

Mia got back to their place with two pints of ice cream in tow – _Cherry Garcia and Phish Food._ She grabbed two spoons and sat next to Letty on the couch, passing her the chocolate one first and opening the other to start on herself. They would switch about halfway through.

"So", she broached quietly. "Aiden told me what he asked you."

Letty sighed. "How many times do I have to fuck up before I start making better decisions?"

"I really wouldn't know, Let", she mused. "But I think you're way too hard on yourself. Some things you can't control no matter how much you want to… and you haven't made nearly as many mistakes as you blame yourself for."

"I can't do it again. I won't put my kid in the middle of my relationship issues anymore."

"You deserve to be happy. The 'who' will be up to you – when you're ready."

"I just don't want to have another conversation like that with my son again. It's not fair to him, and it was wicked uncomfortable for me", she made a face.

"This is what you get when the two of you decide to be open and honest with your kid", Mia rolled her eyes.

Letty glared at her balefully. "If I hadn't talked to him about it, he eventually would have asked Dom. And that's a conversation that needs to happen _never._"

"You know that if you and my brother were as honest with each other as you are with Aiden, it would give me a hell of a lot less headaches", Mia said tiredly.

"Have we really been that awful?" Letty asked.

Mia groaned. "You know how much I love that little boy", she said softly. "He's a mix of some of the people I love most in the world – and someone I miss very much."

"Your mom", she said gently. "He looks like her. Dom and I never wanted to put you in the middle of our mess-"

"That's not what I meant."

"You know, when Dom was about seventeen – it was one of the few times he talked about her with me – he told me that one of the last things she told him was to take care of you, and be a good big brother", Letty said hoarsely. "When we found out I was pregnant, things were a mess. It was so much more than us not being ready to be parents, Mia. He'd spent the last, what, _nine years_ more or less trying to be a good example. I mean, yeah, we did some stupid shit, but we mostly kept out of trouble, or at least were smart enough not to get caught. He felt guilty – more than he should have – but knew the only way to make it right would be to step up and be a good father… which he is. And then, after Aiden was born, you were only sixteen, but you helped so much Mia, you still do. He had to let go of the idea that you were still a little girl. As far as I know, he's still working on that one", she chuckled. "But I was a mess, and pulled back so hard from him that I still don't know how to make it right. And whatever our relationship is now, I don't know if we could ever even get back to what we were."

"Why didn't you tell me all of this before?"

"You know I like to avoid the mushiness you swim in", Letty smirked, then shook her head, face relaxing into more of a wry look. "And it's hard to know what to say. Half of it still isn't my story to share. It took a few weeks after my mom found us with the test, before she told me I had to call my dad and tell him that I was stupid enough to get knocked up."

Mia winced. "I remember the fight you and Dom had after that."

"We were so young and stupid… Dad was so angry. I would have rather listened to your dad and my mom rail on us for a month straight than have that conversation again. At the time, I thought it would be the hardest thing I ever had to do."

"It wasn't?"

Letty smiled weakly. "I wish."

"He forgave you. Luis loves Aiden. And he let you go stay with him."

"He did. He wasn't angry at me or Dom… he was upset because we'd made our lives harder than they could have been", she said softly. "Well, I have to admit, he _was_ mad at your brother", she chuckled. "But he got over it."

"Yeah, how long did that take?" Mia laughed.

"Three or four years", Letty said easily.

"Is he coming to Aiden's birthday this year?"

"Yeah, he's gonna fly up for the weekend."

"Is he staying with your mom?"

"Oh, that's funny, Mia", Letty grinned. "I'll be sure to tell her that it was your idea."

Mia blanched slightly. "I take it back. You're mom can be terrifying."

"I always thought you had the brains, Mia mine", Letty teased.

"You're a riot, Let", Mia said dryly, eyes rolling.

There was a rambunctious knock on the door. Letty made a face and got up. Leon was at the door with Jesse and Vince. "Dare I ask?" she muttered dryly.

They grinned at her mischievously. "Dom sent us over", Leon answered.

Letty whipped around to glare at Mia. "What did you do?"

Mia frowned. "Nothing…? I _might have_ mentioned you were a bit upset, but-"

"_Mia_", she groaned, completely exasperated. "Okay, why are you three knuckleheads here?"

"Fireworks!" Jesse explained. "Dominic said you had to come with us to stock up for the fourth."

Her mouth twitched. "He pawned you guys off on me? I thought it went pretty well when you went by yourselves last year."

"Letty!" Mia whined. "That did _not _go well!"

Letty rolled her eyes. "Lemme get my purse. And I'm driving." She caught their dude high-fives as she turned and went back to her room. She grabbed her purse and keys, and then snatched her phone from her dresser.

She shot off a quick text to Dominic.

_You owe me. So big._

All he sent back was '_Have fun_', and she knew he was laughing at her.

"Let's go, bitches!" Letty hollered.

"No bottle rockets this year!" Mia countered as Letty appeared in the living room. "Dad will kill us if another one lands on the roof."

"It was an accident!" Vince retorted.

0

The guy who checked them out at the warehouse that had been rented for the sole purpose of selling fireworks and Fourth of July paraphernalia gave them some strangely amused looks. Letty figured it had a bit to do with her attempts at man-wrangling – _she was going to kill Dominic_ – and the accessories they had collected along the way.

Letty had a Abraham Lincoln sized stars-and-stripes hat on her head, Vince had a pair of red, plastic star-shaped fake glasses without lenses – only wearing them after Letty called him a giant chicken. And she had wrapped Jesse's neck with a giant blue boa that he kept tickling her nose with despite her threats. And Leon was wearing enough red, white, and blue beaded necklaces to be a supplier at a Jerry Springer show.

She had been so busy being distracted by whatever Jesse was talking about, that she didn't notice until later that she had paid for the stars-and-stripes bikini that Vince had tossed at her earlier as a joke. She finally saw it as they were loading all the bags into her trunk.

"On what planet do you think I'm actually going to wear that?" she hissed, slapping his shoulder.

"Come _on_, Let. You've got the body. _Work it._"

Both her eyebrows disappeared beneath her bangs. "Since when did you become my gay best friend?"

Leon smirked in amusement, but Jesse cracked up laughing and nearly fell down in the parking lot.

He glowered at her. "You need laid _in the worst way_", Vince said seriously.

"So what? You're pimping me out?" she laughed. "Can you please leave the role of fashion consultant to Mia?"

"Come on, you just need a decent wing-man to get out there again. You're my girl; let me help you out."

Letty snorted. "You telling other guys that I have an awesome rack doesn't make you a good wing-man."

"Hey, that worked once! You know… until Dom caught us", he laughed as they finally piled back into her car. Leon and Jesse settled in the back seat to listen to their reminiscing.

"Poor Ryan Simmons", she said dryly. "He had a black eye for a week."

"_Ryan Simmons!?_" he whined incredulously. "Dom nearly handed me my ass when he found out I was trying to get you laid."

She laughed. "Yeah, well, I had just turned sixteen not that long ago, and he was still figuring it out that I was actually a girl."

"Let, those tits were a dead give-away", Vince said sarcastically.

"Oh, my god, are we done?" she complained. "V, I don't need your help to get a man."

"We'll see."

"Yo, Vince. You think Dom would freak if we tried to get her hooked up this summer?" Leon wondered innocently.

"I think it would be fun to find out", Vince laughed.

"Dude, he'd go postal", Jesse snickered.

Letty nearly slammed on the brakes. "I _will_ make you dickheads walk home", she threatened harshly. "That shit isn't funny."

_She was going to __**kill**__ Dominic._

00

**A/N: Holy crap! You guys went over one hundred reviews with that last chapter. That's so insane! Thanks so much for all the love. You guys are awesome. So happy I got this done in my two hours of free time in my crazy day. Let me know what you think.**


	12. Chapter 12

**An End and a Beginning**

**Summary: They didn't work out the first time around, but they have something tangible between them that forces them to be in each other's lives forever. They are getting a second chance, but with Dominic and Letty, nothing comes easy.**

Rating: M - eventually

Chapter 12

Letty spent nearly two weeks putting up with Vince's shenanigans. Leon and Jesse had wisely selected to stay out of it, but watched from the sidelines with amusement.

They weren't the only ones watching. She had noticed Dominic in the background eyeing them curiously on more than one occasion. Those interactions usually ended with her swatting Vince upside the head and walking away. The fact that it took him twelve days before he pushed her too far was a miracle in itself.

Growing up with these guys through her teen years had been a nightmare and a _half_. Most of the female population resented her for the place she had with them, and most guys didn't understand that she wasn't there just to suck dicks. Letty had paid her dues. They were her boys, but that didn't mean they hadn't given her hell on more than one occasion – or that they still didn't.

They razzed her because she was a girl, even though she had never put up with any misogynistic bullshit and could dish it out just as good as they did. They were good guys. Tony had never put up with them being disrespectful towards women; it was one lesson they had learned quickly.

Most of them had become family by choice, and sometimes decisions like that could be stronger than blood. They didn't have the luxury of being able to B.S. each other most of the time, and had become accustomed to giving out the hard truths when needed, not putting up with the crap that came from the baggage they all had for any extended period of time. That wasn't to say they were _always_ super direct in the approach.

It was early Sunday afternoon and they were hanging out at the store when a blue Honda parked on the street. Tony had gone to church with Mia, and then they had taken Aiden with them to the park. Letty was behind the counter filling in Mia's shift.

She watched as a man unfolded himself from the confines of the car. Dark brown hair, green eyes, lightly muscled, and over six feet tall... He wasn't her type, but she had to admit he was easy on the eyes. He paused to pull his cell phone from his pocket to answer it and leaned against the hood of his car.

Letty found Vince smirking at her once she pulled her focus back to her task. "Don't start", she warned seriously. "Someone else will have to drive you to the hospital when I shoot you in the foot."

He grinned at her. "I just wanna talk to him."

"Oh, yeah?" she glared. "What are you going to say exactly? 'My friend Letty over there just needs a quick fuck. Would you mind banging her?'" she hissed sarcastically.

He shrugged thoughtfully. "That's a little more direct than I planned, but it could work."

Letty nearly jumped over the counter to lunge for him when he stood up. She went around instead, almost tackling him to get his ear in her grip and then _twisted_. The answering yelp was more than satisfying as she dragged him back. "_Don't even think about it_", she warned harshly.

He got a good look at her glare and immediately started backtracking. "Now, Let, remember you love me-"

"Who says?" she growled roughly through clenched teeth. Leon and Jesse were howling with laughter from behind her.

"Let go of my ear!" Vince slapped at her hand, but it didn't loosen her grip.

"Stop acting like a jackass!" she threatened, kicking his shin in retaliation. "Stay out of my love life."

"_Ow_- Dom! Would you get out here and get her off me?" he finally yelled as her arm wrapped around his neck.

Letty froze. "You play dirty", she complained.

"I'm not her keeper", Dominic's voice rumbled across the store from the office. "You both can quit dicking around though."

"I can't speak for V, but I'm dick-less", Letty retorted sarcastically, shoving Vince out of her personal space.

"You say that like I could forget", he muttered dryly. "Vince! Where the hell is the paperwork you were supposed to file Friday?"

"I put it on top of the file cabinet."

Dominic walked out of the office and pointed a thumb behind him. "_On the file cabinet_", he repeated. "Why didn't you just _file it?_ If you don't find it, Mrs. Sanchez is going to eat your face off, and I'm not going to stop her."

Vince groaned. "I'm on it." He passed Dom into the office and cursed at the large pile that was now on top of the file cabinet that had been clear except for _his_ file cabinet two days ago. _He knew he should have taken it back to the garage before he went home that night. Someone would have put it in the system by now._

Letty looked up to find Dominic in front of her. "What?"

"What was that about?" he asked seriously.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Where did you hide Vince's file?" she asked knowingly.

He smirked. "I found it yesterday and took it back to the garage."

"Nice", Letty rolled her eyes.

"Are you going to answer my question?"

Letty's memory was brought back to something her father had said to her when she was sixteen.

"_If the saying is 'let sleeping dogs lie', you need to leave a sleeping bear the fuck alone", Luis told her._

_She had laughed, mostly at her father's cursing, then asked, "What if you can't tell if the bear is asleep or dead?"_

"_Don't poke the bear, Leticia", he'd replied seriously._

She knew their relationship was a bear. She just wasn't sure if it was asleep or dead. Letty shrugged and went for broke, deciding she should at least find out. "Vince is trying to get me laid."

"Don't tell me you ran out of batteries", he said dryly.

She let out a surprised laugh. "Shut up."

He studied her with a raised eyebrow, apparently deciding to be serious about her original statement. "Yeah, well… I think you know how I feel about that", Dom said quietly.

"Jealous?" she teased mildly.

"Always", he murmured, squeezing her shoulder gently before walking away, stopping to leave her with one last parting comment. "If he comes over, try not to be too nice."

She internally face-palmed, "Had to poke the bear, didn't you?" Letty grumbled to herself once he was back in the office and out of hearing range.

"You know talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity", Vince laughed, having watched the exchange, apparently having decided the file was less important than watching their live-action soap opera.

"This is all your fault", she complained.

"I'm pretty sure you stepped in that one pretty hard all by yourself", he refuted.

"I know it", she admitted roughly.

Vince reached over and messed up her hair just as the guy near the blue Honda crossed the street.

00

The Fourth of July had become quite the ordeal over the years. They had all taken turns running to the liquor store to pick up things throughout the week. This year it was on a Friday, so they went into hardcore party mode for the long weekend.

Buying the alcohol really was the least of the preparations. Mia had spent all her free time that week making chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, and covering them in red, white, and blue frosting. She had left the Jell-o shots to Letty – red, blue, and clear – which meant that there was a very unbalanced ratio of liquor and water, and they _really _burned going down.

They were at the Toretto's just after eleven the next morning finishing last minute items. Mia had made two giant bowls of pasta salad the night before, and it just switched fridges. She forced Letty to help her with the artichoke dip. That had gotten some speculative looks from the others, but after Letty sprayed Dom with the hose from the kitchen sink, those who weren't helping elected to stay out of the kitchen.

"Kelly is bringing the Jell-o salad, right?" Mia asked as she started boiling potatoes.

Letty nodded. "I talked to her last night. They're going to bring some camping chairs, a few coolers, more hot dogs, hamburger meat and buns, and stop to get more ice."

"Awesome", Mia murmured.

"Yeah, Kyle fixed that deep freezer in the garage when he got here yesterday, so we're just going to fill it. It should be plenty."

Mia blinked. "Kyle!" she shouted towards the living room where the guys were watching some sports run on TV.

"Yo!" he hollered back.

Letty grinned.

Kyle was Vince's cousin. Their moms were half-sisters. He was a year younger than her, and whenever he came up from Vegas to visit, they all had a blast. He wasn't as scruffy as Vince. His hair was blonde, and he had stubble on his face, but never the 'Wilderness Man' beard that Vince let go wild sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But when they stood together, you could tell they were related. Their eyes were the same.

He was crashing at Vince's apartment on the pull-out sofa while he was in town.

"You fixed our freezer?" Mia asked.

"Sure did, sweetheart. Do I get a kiss?"

"You do if you come in here to get it", she smirked. "I'm busy with devilled eggs."

Letty heard the clatter as he probably jumped over the furniture in his haste. She dodged out of the way as he dipped Mia dramatically and planted one on her.

"Dammit, Kyle, I didn't say you could use tongue!" she laughed, swiping her mouth after he set her upright again.

Dominic groaned good-naturedly from the archway between the family room and kitchen. "Man, when are you going to stop macking on my sister?"

"As soon as she stops letting me", Kyle chuckled, dropping a kiss on Letty's cheek as he passed.

Letty waited until Kyle was gone before she practically doubled over laughing. "Damn, I love when he's here."

0

The O'Neil's showed up at two-thirty. Letty and Dominic had met them last year at an open house for Aiden's school. Their son Ryan was in Aiden's class; the two had been fast friends. They had gotten along so well with Ryan's parents that they stayed friends even if their kids were in different classes this year. They had kept up with play-dates on weekends and some sleepovers during the summers.

Kelly worked part-time from home as a medical transcriptionist because they also had a two year-old, Sarah, and David was a personal trainer who was also fairly decent under the hood of a car.

Their silver SUV backed into the Toretto's driveway, and Letty shooed Dom away from the grill he was heating up to go help them unload the car. She was kind of amused that he let her, and she didn't bother to bury her laughter when he came back with Casey, the O'Neil's three year-old golden retriever bouncing at the end of her leash, and carrying Sarah who was raring to go after her afternoon nap.

And then he ordered Vince to go help David get their stuff from the car.

"Nice delegating", Letty teased.

"Priorities", he smirked as Sarah babbled at him while she cuddled her stuffed, blue bunny. "I never say no to a kid carrying a stuffed bunny."

"Yes, I know", she grinned. "The last few years have turned you into a muscle-y, child and puppy cuddler."

He glanced down at his biceps with a raised eyebrow. "Don't objectify me."

The retort startled her, and she laughed until her stomach hurt. Dominic walked away, shaking his head and went to go supervise. Once everyone had everything where it was supposed to be and the gate was closed, he unhooked Casey's leash and let her run through the enclosed backyard. It didn't take long for her to coerce Jesse and Leon into throwing her Frisbee around for her.

"They never could say no to a cute blonde", Mia laughed as she set a pile of things on the picnic table.

Letty nodded. "Good point."

"Mom!"

Letty looked down to find to monkeys attached to her thighs. Aiden had been so excited for his friend to come over and play. She had already doused the kid with sun block, and he was running around in his swimming trunks.

"What's up, kiddos? Are you guys getting taller?" she wondered, eyebrows scrunched curiously, trying to decide if her son was going through another growth spurt.

The boys traded looks that reminded her of Dom and Vince when they were younger, and they both shrugged.

"Mom, can we go in the pool now?" Aiden asked.

Letty looked around the yard to find her friend, "Hey, Kelly? Did you already put sun block on Ryan?"

"Before we left", she nodded.

Letty sighed, and looked down. "I suppose you can't wait fifteen minutes so I can go change?" she asked wryly.

"Nope."

"Uh-uh."

She grinned. "Uncle Kyle looks like he's ready for a swim. Go see if he'll watch you guys for a few minutes."

They ran off to go beg Kyle to play with them in the pool, and Letty laughed at the dirty look he directed at her. "Just for fifteen minutes", she promised. "I have to change… maybe twenty."

"Can they both swim without floats?" he asked exasperatedly.

She nodded. "They're fine. Just toss them in over the side. They swim like fish."

He raised both eyebrows and swooped down to pick up Aiden and dangled him over the water while he shrieked. "What? Like this? Can I just drop him?" he laughed.

Letty nodded, uncontrollable laughter spilling past her lips. "Make sure they hold their noses, and you're good", she advised.

Aiden held his nose, and Kyle tossed him lightly into the water. Letty watched as her son popped up seconds later. She hollered for Tony to come watch the grill and headed back into the house to change and grab some beach towels. David fell into step beside her.

"You could have made them wait", he chuckled. "I was going to get in with them."

She laughed. "Why? Aiden loves when Kyle comes to play. Might as well get started wearing them out early."

"Good point", he mused.

"Are you changing?" she asked when they headed for the stairs. He nodded. "Take the bathroom; I'll use Mia's room."

When Letty came back outside fifteen minutes later, she managed to run straight into Vince while she was occupied with rubbing tanning oil over her arms. He smirked down at her, amused. "Nice little outfit you've got on", he teased.

"You know I rarely back down from a challenge", she smirked.

"How very patriotic of you", Vince shook his head.

She feinted a jab at his ribs and ducked around him to cross the yard to the pool. She nearly groaned aloud when Dom stopped her too. "_What?_"

"What are you _wearing_?" he laughed.

She rolled her eyes. "Not one _word_, Toretto. This is Vince's fault."

"Vince?"

"And now that I think about it, it's also _your_ fault", she frowned.

"What did I do?"

"You sent me to that Fourth of July, firecracker-fest warehouse with the Three Stooges, you asshole", she grumbled. "And Vince tricked me into buying this bikini."

He grinned, eyeing her cleavage briefly before reminding himself that he wasn't supposed to be thinking about burying his face there anymore. "I like your stripes", he teased.

"I'm going in the pool to play with the kids", she rolled her eyes. "Stop looking at my rack."

"I'll try", he called after her. "But I can't exactly miss it."

"I bet you miss it", Letty smirked over her shoulder.

0

_Several hours later:_

Aiden and Ryan were playing catch with David on the other side of the pool. Leon, Vince, Jesse, and Kyle were sitting lawn chairs holding up point cards and debating points, averaging between throws and catches. Mia had thrown them all out of the kitchen twice already and said they couldn't play beer pong at the kitchen table.

"I'm going to make more margaritas", Letty called over the music.

"Go easy on the tequila this time!" Dom shouted back. "My brain is starting to pickle."

"Are you sure that's from the liquor?" she teased.

"That's cute, Let."

"Stop drinking out of my cup", she complained.

"Kelly, go watch her", he said with a laugh. "Make sure she behaves."

"Dominic, are you sure you're alright with Sarah? I can take her-"

"Go on", he made a shooing motion. "You've got your hands full with Letty", Dom joked, laughing when the woman in question to stick her tongue out at him.

Letty shook her head and hooked Kelly's arm in hers, leading them back into the house. "Come on", she grinned. "He'll be fine. Just make sure you get her back at the end of the night."

"Every time we come over, I swear I never even hold her", Kelly chuckled as they prepared the drinks in the blender, adding some fruit into the mix. "She _freaked_ when we got here. I think she fell in love with his voice."

"Oh, he has that affect on most of the female population", Letty smirked. "I'll admit it worked for me too."

"I don't know how you two manage it", she shook her head.

"What's that?" Letty asked absently, digging into the freezer for ice.

"Maybe it's just the outside view", Kelly shrugged. "I don't know your life story. But you and Dominic seem to be in each other's space a lot. Somehow it always at least looks like you get along fairly well."

Letty dumped her large cup of ice into the mixer. "We grew up together, we work together, and we have a kid… nothing comes easy", she sighed. "The fights we have, we try to handle privately. Sometimes we'd really like to kill each other. He was my best friend besides Mia growing up. When I got pregnant, everything changed." She stopped to take a breath, realizing she was rambling. "I think right now we're both just trying not to screw up our kid."

Kelly squeezed her arm reassuringly. "From one parent to another, I think you're doing just fine."

"Is that going to get me an extra shot of tequila in that mix?" Letty cocked an eyebrow.

"I won't tell if you don't."

0

It was after six, the dinner meal had been cleaned up, but there was still dessert and snack food lying around. Dominic wasn't sure how many blender-fulls of margaritas Letty, Mia, and Kelly had gone through, but Letty had definitely gone over her tolerance.

If he hadn't noticed earlier, he would have become _very_ aware when she toppled into his lap – wearing a pair of jean cut-offs over the bottoms of her bikini – and he got a mouthful of her hair.

"Um, hi?" he laughed.

She peered up at him in confusion, swatting her hair out of her face. "Are you in my chair?"

"No", he grinned. "You're in my lap."

Letty blinked, and then swung her legs over the canvas arm of the chair. "Can I stay?" she asked softly.

Dom fluffed her long hair playfully. "Make yourself comfortable", he murmured.

"Why the hell is Kyle's truck in the middle of the yard?"

"We're putting the blow-up mattress in it so we can sit back there with the kids", he answered with a laugh.

"Did we have this conversation already?"

"Maybe."

"Awesome", she muttered.

"I told you to go easy with the tequila", he teased.

"Ugh, I think my party animal days are over", she groaned. "When did that happen?"

"You want a specific date?"

"Oh, shut up and let me take a nap. And I'd better not get a face full of dog's ass while we're watching fireworks."

He snorted; amused that she could be both cuddly _and_ belligerent when she was drunk. "Hey, Vince, grab me a water bottle from the cooler behind you."

Vince passed the plastic bottle to his friend, grinning outright at the scene playing out in front of him, knowing exactly how this was about to go.

If Letty hadn't had her eyes closed, Dom wouldn't have gotten away with it. But as it was, he set the icy, wet bottle against her bare stomach and braced for a hit.

"_Shit, that's cold!_" she yelped, nearly falling to the ground before he righted her.

He smirked. "Drink some water. You'll thank me later when you don't have a headache that feels like angry badgers are gnawing on your brain."

Letty laughed despite herself, but made sure to elbow him in the ribs. "Jackass", she muttered.

0

Finally it was dark enough to set off their copious amounts of fireworks. Tony looked at the large cardboard box the stash had been dumped into incredulously. "Letty, I thought you were going to keep them from going overboard?"

She snorted. "Whose fool idea _was_ that anyway? I kept them from getting bottle rockets. My job ended there."

"And I'm very grateful", Tony muttered dryly.

"Somehow, I don't think you mean that", she teased.

"Where is your mother? She was here earlier, and then she left."

Letty shrugged. "I don't know. Something about some paperwork for a client that she needed to look over, I think."

"Nah, she was talkin' to a guy", Vince argued.

Letty made a face. "I didn't need to know that. I'm going inside for a minute. Aiden, Ryan, do you want ice pops?"

They hollered affirmatively at her from where they were piled in the back of Kyle's pick-up with Dom, Kelly, David, and Casey, who was fighting the kids for blanket space. She got the pretzel salad from the fridge and filled a Styrofoam bowl with enough for Dominic to eat half of it, wondering absently when it had become okay for him to be eating off her plate again, grabbed the two ice pops – a blue and a green – from the freezer and cut the tops off before going back outside. She grabbed a beer from the cooler before heading to take her spot.

David took the ice pops for the kids and gave her a hand up into the bed of the truck. She stepped over the kids and dog to go sit against the window where Dom had piled their pillows. David and Kelly sat opposite each other near the end of the truck, Casey laying over both their laps, and the kids played between them.

Dominic eyed her bowl with interest. "Are you planning to eat all of that?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Maybe." When he didn't stop looking at her, she rolled her eyes. "Half of it's for you – since you keep eating my stuff", Letty admitted grudgingly.

"You only brought one spoon", he mused.

"Do I really need to remind you what of yours used to go in my mouth?" she muttered wryly, keeping her voice low. "I think we can share a damn spoon."

"Whatever you say", he said mildly.

The fireworks were underway shortly, and the booming drowned out most of the talking except the exaggerated '_oohs and ahhs_' that came from Vince and Leon who were teasing Mia – she had never really grown up about seeing fireworks and was still enamored.

When they were about halfway done, Letty nudged Dominic. "I like those ones – with the tails", she smirked.

"Why's that?"

"They remind me of the cartoon sperm from that health class video in high school."

He choked on his beer laughing.

00

**A/N: Oh, wow, this is long. Lol. I'm sure you're all thrilled. It's probably going to be the longest chapter of this story; I just didn't see the point of dividing this in half. Thanks for reading and all the reviews so far. Let me know what you think about this one. No plot really, just some family fun. (Formatting had an oopsie that looks fine on my page, but I fixed a line – hopefully it shows up right online.)**


	13. Chapter 13

**An End and a Beginning**

**Summary: They didn't work out the first time around, but they have something tangible between them that forces them to be in each other's lives forever. They are getting a second chance, but with Dominic and Letty, nothing comes easy.**

Rating: M - eventually

Chapter 13

_**Six weeks after their first kiss in 'Messages from the Heart':**_

_Letty entered the Toretto house like an angry whirlwind, passing Dominic wordlessly to get to the kitchen. She grabbed a beer, slammed the refrigerator shut with her hip as she twisted the top off the bottle. She downed the entire contents in three swallows, choking a little, swiping the back of her hand over her mouth before tossing the bottle and cap into the trash with a clang._

_Dom shoved the fridge closed when she opened it for another. He peered down at her, slightly amused. "How old are you?"_

"_Just move", she sighed exasperatedly._

"_What's goin' on?" he asked seriously. She nearly stamped her foot at him, and he had to refrain from laughing. Her scowl was __**not**__ playful. Letty always came over without an announcement, but she had left the Toretto's three hours ago after a phone call from her mother had ordered her home. The fact that she was back… he was concerned._

_She shook her head irritably and went to stand in front of the sink, looking out the kitchen window. He waited, watching her intently until she finally spoke. "My dad is leaving. They're getting divorced."_

_Dom let out a breath. They had all seen this coming – even Letty. But it didn't make the fact that it was now reality any easier. "I'm sorry."_

_She snorted. "Why are you trying to take credit? It has nothing to do with you."_

"_I'm sorry you're hurting", he murmured into her hair, stepping up behind her and holding her to his chest._

"_They used to really love each other. Do you remember that?"_

"_Yeah, I do."_

"_I felt so lucky to have both of them", she admitted quietly, "Especially in this neighborhood where half the kids around here have parents who are shooting up or abusive alcoholics that beat the shit out of each other."_

"_They don't love __**you**__ any less. They're both good people, Let. Things just got fucked up", he said gently._

"_I know. He was packing when I walked out", she said hoarsely._

"_He's not going to leave without making sure you're okay", Dominic shook his head._

"_I can't go back there right now."_

"_You wanna come sit with me for a little while?"_

_She nodded silently and let him lead her back into the living room so she could curl up against his side on the couch._

_Half an hour later, Letty was dozing on his shoulder. He still had the television on with the volume low, but was paying more attention to her than what was on the screen when he heard an engine._

_Dominic was reluctant to wake her up, but he recognized the car that had pulled into the driveway. His fingers stroked through her hair lightly. "Let, baby, wake up."_

"_Hmm?" she mumbled against his neck._

_He sighed. "Letty, your dad is here."_

_She sat up slightly. "What?"_

"_Your dad, honey. His car just pulled into the driveway", he said quietly._

"_Tell him I'm not here", she muttered half-heartedly as they heard a knock on the door._

_He shook his head and squeezed her knee. "I'll get the door."_

_Dominic invited her father inside and then turned to find Letty behind him. He kissed her forehead gently. "I'll give you a few minutes." He didn't go far, only into the kitchen where he could hear without being intrusive._

"_You're leaving now?" Letty asked softly._

"_Neither of us wants to keep hurting each other or you, Leticia."_

"_Papi-"_

"_Your mother and I, we had great love once. But we changed and grew apart. Our love gave us you, the best thing in our lives. You should know that we could never regret it. When it is true love, no matter how it ends, you can never wish it didn't happen. Do not give up on love, my girl."_

"_Where are you going?" she asked resignedly._

"_I'll be finding a place near your aunt Alicia."_

"_Aunt Alicia lives in Miami", she said flatly._

_He smiled. "You can visit whenever you like. Your mother said I should expect to see you on your next break."_

"_Miami", she repeated incredulously._

_He chuckled. "Don't look at me like that. I know California is home for you. I would never try to take you from it. But coming to try out the East Coast for a few weeks won't make you a traitor."_

"_You're really leaving?"_

"_I'm only a phone call away. And if you ever really need me, I'll be here."_

"_But you can't just-"_

_He pulled her into a hug. "I love you, mija. More than you know. You won't be alone. Dominic, you can stop eavesdropping now", Luis said wryly._

_Dom moved to lean against the doorjamb between the family room and kitchen. "Sorry", he offered sheepishly._

"_No, you're not", Letty muttered._

"_I trust you'll take care of my daughter?" Luis asked sternly._

"_Papi!" she scolded, embarrassed._

"_You know I will, sir", Dominic said seriously._

_Luis leaned down to kiss both her cheeks. "We'll talk on the phone soon."_

_It was only after the door closed that a few tears spilled from eyes without permission. She swiped them away angrily. Her life was exploding, and somehow it felt like Dominic was here to clean up this emotional mess her parents' divorce was turning her into._

"_Why don't you go upstairs and get some rest?" he suggested, pulling her against his chest. "I'll call and let your mom know you're here."_

_Her arms slid around his waist and she squeezed back, absorbing the reassurance she got from his touch for a few brief seconds before pulling away. "Thanks, Dom."_

_0_

_Two hours later:_

_He'd been watching her for about five minutes before he heard her voice. Her eyes were still closed. "I can __**feel**__ you staring at me", she chuckled._

"_I like seeing you in my bed", he growled._

_She opened her eyes, rested her chin in her hands, and eyed him suspiciously. "I'm sure you do."_

"_You okay?"_

_Letty sighed. "I'll be fine. Sorry for taking your bed."_

"_I need to ask you something", Dom said seriously. "And I feel like a jackass for even bringing it up in the middle of all this shit. But you don't need to give me an answer today, alright? So try not to be too pissed off."_

_She quirked an eyebrow, her interest peaked "What is it?"_

"_How hard do I need to keep coming after you before you figure out I'm serious?" __**He couldn't deny that their relationship had changed since they had kissed. She had been slow about accepting affection from him – or even giving it. But he saw the way his touch relaxed her. And this… the guest room was more or less hers, but she had opted for his room. He counted it a win that she didn't seem embarrassed about it.**_

_She squinted at him and pushed herself up to sit back on her knees. "You wanna talk about this now?"_

"_Do you not listen when I talk?" he raised an eyebrow. "I just want to know what you're thinking, Let. It doesn't have to be today."_

"_Come lay with me for a while?" Letty asked quietly, shifting over to the other side of the bed, putting her back to him as she lay down again._

_He crawled in behind her, slipping an arm around her waist. "Tell me if you need anything, okay?"_

"_Can we talk tomorrow?"_

"_Sure."_

00

Letty showed up at the garage just after ten in the morning on the second Saturday in August. She went to see her son who was on the beat up couch in the corner playing with his Nintendo. He had been at the Torettos since Thursday. They were more flexible with their schedules over the summer. And Tony usually hired a few extra workers, usually college kids, over the summer. This year they had three.

She went to the office to talk to Dominic. Letty leaned in the doorway silently, waiting for him to notice her. She smothered a grin. _He was screwing around with the computer, so it might take a while._ A minute later he was cursing under his breath and jamming his finger repeatedly on one of the buttons.

Letty laughed under her breath. "Alright, stop it before you break it."

His head snapped in her direction. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to know you've got no idea what you're doing", she teased. "Didn't Jesse try to explain this shit to you?"

"Try is the operative word in that sentence", he grumbled, scrubbing his hands over his face.

"Can I help?" she asked calmly. "Or I that going to be like someone tying a frilly pink ribbon around your penis?"

He laughed. "If you can make sense of this, I'll pay for your next set of tires."

"That's a good deal", she grinned and stepped into the office. "The tires I want are expensive."

He got up from the chair and let her have it, only so he could lean over the back and attempt to make sense of what she was doing. "You type fast", he observed curiously.

She shrugged absently, staring at the screen. "Not really. I just don't have to hunt and peck. I had to learn while I was taking those college courses. Otherwise I would have gotten knocked flat on my ass with the workload."

"You know it's your day off, right?" Dom asked after a minute.

"You can consider this overtime", she said dryly, hitting a few more buttons and then looking back at him. "This is what you wanted, right?"

He leaned further over her shoulder to look at the inventory list she had conjured magically from nowhere. "Yes", he muttered sheepishly.

She wisely did not laugh. "I'll print two copies and save this."

"Thanks."

A few more clicks and the printer came to life.

"All done." She spun the chair around the look at him, crossing on leg over the other lazily. She noted silently the look of appreciation he was giving her.

"Where are you going?" he eyed her with interest. She wasn't dressed up, but she had made an effort with her appearance that most people wouldn't notice. It was mostly her hair that was rod straight, and falling below her shoulder blades, that caught his attention. But she was wearing a red _Athletic Dept._ t-shirt with gold lettering, and a pair of white-wash jeans that were doing wonderful things for her ass.

"I need to take Aiden shopping for school clothes. I swear he's grown three inches this summer", she mused.

Tony appeared in the doorway then, apparently curious about Letty's presence enough to come out from under the car he had been working on. "That's Sylvia's side of the family", he smiled slightly. "The Lopez's are notorious beanpoles. That's where Mia gets it from too."

Letty turned her chair sideways so she could see both of them. "I remember."

"I can't keep you out of the garage even on your day off?" Tony raised an eyebrow at her.

She grinned. "Why would you want to? I'm your best mechanic."

"Hey!" Dom glared down at her, playfully affronted.

Letty nudged his shin with the toe of her black and red tennis shoe. "It's alright. I leave the heavy lifting to you", she teased.

He rolled his eyes.

Tony shook his head in amusement. "You two play nice", he chuckled as he walked back out.

"So?" Dominic raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

She sighed. "Clothes", she repeated. "Can I borrow Aiden for a few hours?"

He chuckled. "Borrow?"

"I'll bring him back for dinner. I just want to get a head start on getting all this stuff done before school starts again in a few weeks."

"You're aware I can handle some of this stuff, aren't you?"

Letty made a face. "As much as I'd love to see that", she said dryly, "I think you should leave the clothes shopping to me and Mia."

"Do you need money?"

She frowned. "No."

He looked at her seriously. "Look, I know your dad's mother left you half of her inheritance money when she died, but you can't live on that money forever, Let."

She blinked. "I don't know what you think I do with my money, Dominic – not that it's any of your business. But I've barely touched that inheritance money."

"I'm not letting you start a fight about this", he said flatly. "I know what _we _pay you."

"Do you? The paint jobs are mine, and I get more than half of that money. I don't think you realize how much money that is sometimes."

"So, you're saying I should be paying more attention to the checks were writing you?"

She groaned. "_No_- just stop trying to give me money for stuff. I don't need it."

"Yeah, and I think you need to stop trying to tell me when I can't pay for things for my son", he said firmly.

She rolled her neck. "You asked if I needed money. I said no. That's not the same thing."

"I know you like your crossword puzzles, but skip the word games, alright?"

"Are you seriously offended because I'm not taking your money?" she demanded incredulously. "Because if that's what this is going to turn into, you and I are going to have a problem. I've worked my _ass_ off to make sure I didn't need to depend on anyone else financially. If I needed your help, I would tell you."

"It would be nice if I could believe that, Letty; but you haven't exactly been in a mood to be open with me. You have your pride, and most of the time I respect that. You've been so closed off that I don't know if you _would_ come to me if you needed to. Why the hell – with where our relationship is right now – would you feel safe to do it?"

"You don't trust me", she said flatly.

"No", he refuted quietly. "I think you don't trust me."

"Then we're in a hell of a lot of trouble, aren't we?" she murmured distantly.

"Letty?"

She shook her head and stood up. "You're right. Some things need to change. I just- I need to think. Look, I'll have Aiden back before dinner. I can drop him off at the house. I'm going to come back here later. I _have_ to start to work on the paint job for that Nissan."

"After dinner", he said seriously, halting her retreat.

"Uh, what now?"

"Just stay for dinner", he sighed exasperatedly.

"Dominic", she groaned. "Don't push."

"Why not? You'd rather go home, eat some carrots, and stick your head under a pillow until you're sure the garage is cleared out?"

"You're being dramatic." She made a face. "And where did these mystical carrots come from?" Letty snorted.

"They were the only vegetable in the drawer last time I was over", he smirked.

"Why was your head in my fridge?"

"We have bigger issues, I think."

"Bigger issues than you counting vegetables in my fridge? Pray tell", she teased.

"Go shopping!" he ordered with amusement, pulling his wallet from his back pocket.

"If you're going to throw money at me, I might slap you", she warned with a cocked eyebrow.

"Write a check", he said tersely. "Divide it in half and give me back whatever's left over. Can you just compromise for once?"

Her jaw tightened in frustration, but she took the money with a growl, "Fine." Letty forced her temper into submission and sighed. "I'll go get Aiden. He'll want to see you before we leave."

"Hey, Let", he stopped her before she passed.

"What now?" she asked lazily.

"I like your hair like that."

She blinked, forcing away the knee-jerk reaction to slap at his hand when he reached out and tugged on a lock of her hair. "Thanks?" Letty murmured warily. His smirk made her groan, realizing immediately that her reaction wasn't nearly as calm as it should have been, and she backed away, making a hasty exit.

"Hey, buddy", she knelt near the couch, amused that she had to fight with a handheld video game for her son's attention.

"Hi, Mom."

She smirked. "How 'bout you put that up for now, okay? You're going to come with me for a few hours to go get you some new school clothes, and then we'll come back here for dinner."

"Why do I need new clothes?"

Letty cocked an eyebrow. "Because you keep getting taller", she said evenly. "And unless you're going to stop that, in a few months, we'll probably have to shopping again." She poked his side playfully. "I mean, I'd rather you didn't get any bigger, but Daddy said I can't fill you up with coffee or teach you to smoke cigars-"

"Stop it!" he giggled.

She scooped her laughing son off the couch and carried him back to the office. She heard Tony laughing in the background. "Asks me 'why'", she muttered under her breath, "_Loco_."

Dominic shook his head at her when they came in. "You're gonna throw your back out."

"Psh, those creepers are more likely to do it first. I lift him instead of weights." But she put her son down gently. "Go say bye to your dad. Be good at the store and we'll stop for soft pretzels."

"I want a soft pretzel."

Letty rolled her eyes at Dom. "No problem", she laughed. "You're buying."

Later, after she had Aiden buckled up in the back of her car, she was driving towards the shopping center.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, buddy?" she glance at his reflection in the mirror on her visor

"You're going to eat dinner with us?"

"That's the plan." She looked

"Why?"

Her eyebrows furrowed, "Why what? Why am I having dinner with you? Am I not allowed?" she chuckled.

"Sure, Mom. But why are you eating with us on a Saturday?"

She rolled her eyes under her sunglasses, "Because Daddy said so."

"And Daddy's the boss?"

Letty nearly groaned. _There was no good way to answer __**that**__ – at least not anyway to be polite about it. _"You ask some tough questions sometimes, kid. You know that?"

He grinned mischievously. "Daddy says that too."

"Yeah? What else did he say?"

"That I got it from you", he giggled.

She could help but laugh, "Really? I would think you get that from him."

"Mom, you didn't answer my question."

"You noticed that, huh? That's it. No more school for you. You're too smart already", she teased.

00

**A/N: Yay! Another chapter happened! Lol. I have the next three chapters in progress – mostly just some things to fill in. There are interesting bits on the horizon. Thanks for all the reviews, guys! I'm so happy you all decided to take this journey with me. The end isn't in sight yet, but things are going to start looking up for our favorite couple.**


	14. Chapter 14

**An End and a Beginning**

**Summary: They didn't work out the first time around, but they have something tangible between them that forces them to be in each other's lives forever. They are getting a second chance, but with Dominic and Letty, nothing comes easy.**

Rating: M - eventually

Chapter 14

_Aiden's birthday – September 27__th_

The summer ended, but the hot weather had stuck. Aiden began second grade with the usual excitement- he hadn't learned to hate school yet. And Dom and Letty managed to plan Aiden's upcoming birthday with Mia's help.

His birthday was on Wednesday, so they planned a small family gathering the day of where they gave him his pile of presents and Mia had made cupcakes to go with the ice cream.

His actual party was on Saturday.

The O'Neil's came to spend the day with them, bringing both kids and the dog – it was an even trade to have two more adults to wrangle the rest of Aiden's friends that had come over.

They had counted ten more kids.

Letty's father had flown in Friday afternoon to join in the family fun. Susana's announcement that she was picking up Luis from the airport had received a wary look from her daughter.

"You two aren't going to kill each other, are you?" Letty asked flatly.

Susana raised an eyebrow, but shook her head, a pensive smile on her face. "We'll be stopping for coffee. He asked to speak with me first. Don't call the cops if we don't come back right away", she teased.

Letty's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What's going on?"

"I'll leave it to your father to tell you", she sighed. "I believe I already know."

She had.

Luis had dropped a small bomb on the rest of them that night with the announcement that he would be getting married in the next year. Susana hadn't had much to say except for the fact that her ex-husband had asked for her blessing, and she had given it.

Letty was still reeling a bit from the news, but she had yet to find time to speak with her father privately about the matter.

0

Letty nearly got tackled by the herd of kids running through the kitchen. "Hey! Slow it down in the house!" she shouted after them with a laugh even as the back door slammed. "My god", she grumbled, glaring at Dominic who was laughing at her. "Who thought this was a good idea?"

"I'm pretty sure this was all you, sweetheart", he smirked.

"It was, wasn't it?" she rolled her eyes. "Awesome."

There was shrieking from the backyard, and Dom peered out the kitchen window. "Vince got out the Super Soakers."

"Yay", she grinned. "He can run them until they have a sugar crash. The other parents will love us."

"You ever think about it?"

She raised an eyebrow while wiping down the counter. "What's that? Getting hopped up on a massive sugar high?"

"Having more kids", he clarified.

She blinked, faltering slightly. Then she looked around the otherwise empty kitchen dramatically, "With whom _exactly_? Is there a line-up outside that I'm not aware of?"

"It's just a question", he said mildly.

"Sure it is", Letty rolled her eyes. She shrugged. "We didn't intend for Aiden to come along, and that- I don't regret it. I really don't. But I don't intend to have any more unplanned pregnancies. And I never really thought about having more kids with someone else", she said quietly. "You?"

"I don't hate the idea of more kids. I've just never met another woman I like enough to be attached to for the rest of my life."

She buried a grin and turned back to scrubbing at the sticky puddle of melted ice cream on the counter. "Guess you got lucky as hell the first go 'round, huh?"

"More than you know, Let", he said softly.

She smiled slightly and threw the rag in the sink. "We should go outside and supervise."

"We've become _those_ parents, haven't we?" he asked ironically.

"No, we're still cool", she chuckled.

Dominic nodded. "We'll reevaluate if we need to buy a minivan."

"Sounds like a plan. Do you think you can still beat me at a water fight?" she challenged playfully.

"Do I have to play fair?"

She giggled silently. "You keep _your_ kind of cheating to a minimum", Letty smirked. "We've got kids here for God's sake."

"Let's check that accusation", he growled teasingly, advancing on her as she backed out of the kitchen. "If I remember correctly, you _pantsed me_ the last time we had a water battle. I know Vince will back me up."

She bit her lip, trying to contain a grin as she flushed slightly. "You cornered me. I went into attack mode."

"Excuses", he shook his head in amusement.

Letty turned and went for the door. "Come on", she said over her shoulder. "Let's go play with our kid."

00

_Dominic grabbed the hide-a-key from underneath the rock and let himself into the Ortiz house. Letty had left work early that day looking green, and he wanted to check on her._

_He made his way through the silent house and went upstairs to knock on her bedroom door._

"_Go away."_

_He tried the doorknob and found it unlocked. "You feeling okay?" he asked quietly._

"_Ugh", she grumbled, not moving from where she had her back to him. "Go away, Dom."_

_Dom chuckled. "Letty-"_

_He was interrupted when she sprung from the bed and ran to the bathroom to throw up. She came out a few minutes later after brushing her teeth, and leaned against the wall weakly._

"_Baby, you should get back in bed", he murmured gently. "You want me to get you some medicine?"_

"_Like that would help", she grumbled under her breath. Letty swatted his hand away from her forehead when he tried to gauge if she had a fever. "Stop it", she snapped, annoyed with his hovering._

"_Let, I think you've got the stomach flu. You need to get your ass back in bed."_

"_It's not the flu."_

"_What?"_

_She raked her hands through her hair roughly. "__**God**__, I just can't- we are way too stupid for this. And I don't even know how to- Dom, I am freaking out here!"_

_He caught her arms gently, stopping her rambling tirade. "Hey, easy- Letty, talk to me", he said seriously._

"_I'm late", she managed hoarsely._

"_What?" he repeated in confusion._

_She groaned and dug the heels of her hands against her forehead. "I missed my period last month. I think I might be pregnant."_

_It felt like he'd just had an anvil dropped on his head._

"_How long have you known?" he nearly yelled._

"_I __**don't **__know!" she hollered defensively, shoving his hand off her. "All I've been doing for the last few weeks in praying like hell for my period! I've been a little too worried about possibly being pregnant at nineteen to even deal with thinking about how to tell you!"_

"_You haven't even taken a test yet have you?" he asked flatly._

"_No! Are you not listening to me? I was praying for freaking miracle!"_

_He glared down at her before grabbing her arm, taking her wallet from the dresser and shoving it at her. "We're going to the pharmacy. You can pee on the stick or dip it in a cup, I don't care. But you've got to take a goddamn test, Letty. We'll go from there."_

"_Not the store at the corner", she said quietly after he had forced her through the house and into the front seat of his car. They were already roaring down the block. "They know us there."_

_Dominic headed across town, jaw clenching. It took a good ten minutes for him to ease up on his driving. When he stopped at a red light, he finally glanced over at her. Letty was curled up on the seat, feet tucked underneath her, chewing her thumbnail._

_He could have kicked himself. Dom reached over and gently pulled her hand from her mouth. "Stop that. You've been worrying for almost three weeks." When he didn't get a reaction from her, realizing she was staring blankly out the window, he squeezed her hand. She gave no reaction, and he glanced at the light before focusing on her sharply, wondering if she might be having a panic attack. "Letty, __**breathe**__", he barked._

_She gasped slightly, and shook her head. "I'm fine. Light's green", she muttered._

_He drove another eight minutes and pulled into the parking lot for the drugstore and turned off the engine. "Come on."_

"_No, I'll go in myself."_

"_You sure?"_

"_Yeah- it'll only take a minute."_

_He caught her hand before she opened the car door. "Hey. It's going to be okay."_

_She snorted. "Tell me that again in half an hour if the test is positive."_

_0_

_They got back to her house a bit later. The car ride home had been almost as tensely silent as the drive to the store. Dominic shut the door behind him as they went back to her bedroom. Letty threw the paper bag with the pregnancy test in it at her bed and rushed to the bathroom to vomit again._

_Dom was standing in the doorway when she finished and went to wash her mouth out in the sink. "Do you still think it's the flu?" he asked wryly, setting the tiny box on the counter that had the power to decide their future._

"_I really fucking hope so."_

_He reached for her, and she sagged weakly against him, burying her face in his chest. "Somehow, I doubt it. But we need to be sure. Take the test, Letty."_

_She sighed heavily and shooed him out of the bathroom. "One test I'd really like to fail", she grumbled, shutting the bathroom door for privacy. It took her a few minutes to get up her courage to open the box and take the test, but she finally left the bathroom. "Three to five minutes", she answered his look and went to stand next to where he was stretched out on her bed._

_He pulled her down next to him, and she twined her legs through his worriedly, seemingly trying to burrow into him._

"_It's gonna be okay, baby."_

_She groaned. "Please don't say 'baby'."_

_He chuckled. "You know I love you, right?"_

"_Dom… what if I'm really pregnant? What do we do?"_

"_Before or after our parents murder us?" he teased._

_Letty squeezed his legs between hers in irritation. "Be serious! How the hell can you joke right now?"_

"_Because", he murmured, stroking her hair back from her face. "I know that we can handle anything."_

"_Even raising a kid?"_

"_We'll make it work. So don't pussy out on me", he teased, tweaking her nose._

_She rolled her eyes, "Asshole."_

_Ten minutes later, they were arguing over the test results when Susana walked in on them. The day went downhill from there._

_00_

"_Just wait until I can tell Mia that you turned into a big ball of mush over an ultrasound", Letty teased two days later as he opened the car door for her to slide into the passenger seat._

"_I wasn't the one who had the waterworks turned on", he raised an eyebrow._

"_Hormones", she shook her head vigorously. "I had no control over that whatsoever. You can't hold it against me."_

_He leaned in and kissed her lips gently, "Whatever you say, sweetheart."_

"_Dom?" she looked at him, fighting a smile. "I think the baby wants a milkshake."_

"_The baby is about as big as a grain of rice", he said pointedly._

_Letty laughed. "So?"_

_He eyed her with fond amusement. "Fine, but then we're going home, and I plan to have a little chat with our child about him enabling his mother's bad eating habits."_

"_Him?" she laughed. "You don't know it will be a boy. And it will be a while before we can find out the sex."_

"_That's alright. I can wait a while to have proof that I'm right", he said cockily before shutting her door and walking around the front to get behind the wheel. He paused at the light that would let them turn onto the road. "Do we need to stop anywhere before we go home?"_

"_The pharmacy? We can drop off my prescription for the prenatal vitamins", she reminded._

_He nodded, "Anything else?"_

"_No. I just want to go home and spend some time together", she said quietly. "I have a feeling no one will leave us alone ever again." __**She knew they both needed a little time to absorb the turn their lives were about to take before they talked to anyone else.**_

_He sent her a pointed look. "We're both over eighteen, Let. They can't make decisions for us. We can do this how we want, alright?"_

"_Is that how our family works?" she asked with a sarcastic laugh._

_Dominic grimaced. "Good point."_

_0_

_They were back at Letty's house because Susana wouldn't be home until after seven. Tony would be expecting them for dinner later, but they were free until then._

_Letty was curled up on her side, hand twisting at the corner of her pillow case. Dom sat on the edge of the bed and they studied each other carefully, asking and answering questions that couldn't be spoken aloud at the moment._

"_I love you, and I'm going to love our son", he promised finally._

_She grinned. "What are you gonna do if it's a girl?"_

"_The next one will be a girl", Dom said confidently._

"_What? You're in charge of your sperm? I don't think that jives with any science I learned in school", Letty argued playfully._

"_You want to bet on it?"_

"_How about we talk about the fact that I'm knocked up with our child, and you're already planning on a second."_

"_It never hurts to be prepared", he teased._

"_Prepared?" she repeated incredulously. "Us prepared would not have me pregnant right now! And if you don't start freaking out with me, I'm going to feel like an idiot."_

_He shrugged. "I worried about it in the car earlier. Now I'm good."_

"_I __**will**__ knock you on the floor", she threatened._

_He rolled his eyes. "Let, right now I'm more worried about you than how we're gonna figure this out. You've got to calm down. You're worried about whether or not we're ready to be parents, when I know this might be the best thing we ever do. I'm worried about how this is going to affect everyone else. But for the next few hours, let's just ignore that and focus on the three of us, okay?"_

"_The three of us? I kinda like the sound of that", she admitted softly._

_Dominic grinned at her, leaning to kiss the side of her mouth. "Me too", he murmured. "Now sit up and scoot over. I want to hold you and our baby."_

_They shuffled around on her bed until Dom was sitting against the headboard, knees bent, and she crawled between his legs and leaned back against his chest carefully._

_His hand crept up the bottom of her t-shirt and spanned across her still-flat belly. He kissed her neck. "How long do you think we can stay like this?"_

_She chuckled. "Probably until I have to throw up again", Letty shook her head._

"_Poor mommy", he murmured._

_She frowned. "Let's not jump the gun on anyone calling me 'mommy' just yet."_

_He rubbed soothing circles across her stomach. "Aw, don't hurt the baby's feelings", he teased._

"_You're not funny", she said honestly._

"_The baby thinks I'm funny."_

"_It doesn't know any better yet", Letty muttered dryly._

"_You're so mean to me."_

"_Mean?" she cocked an eyebrow. "I'm having your baby, aren't I?"_

_He grinned. "Hell yes you are!"_

"_That seems pretty nice of me."_

_Dominic grabbed her waist, and flipped them easily so she was underneath him as he lay between her legs. He held her hips, pinning her gently to the mattress and kissed the skin just under her navel. He took her right hand in his, lacing their fingers together and settling them against her mid-section._

"_Something tells me I'm gonna get sick really quickly of people poking at my stomach", she rolled her eyes at him._

"_It's mine. I get to poke it whenever I want", he said seriously._

"_Isn't that what you said about-" her words were muffled by his free hand._

"_Hush with your dirty mouth", he chuckled. He pulled back when she nipped at his palm lightly with her teeth. "There's a baby in here."_

"_Uh, yeah, Dom, the baby doesn't have ears yet."_

"_No, but it will eventually and doesn't need to hear its mother talking like a porn star. I'd like to wait until he's born before we start causing emotional damage", he said dryly._

"_No sex until after the baby's born; got it", she nodded definitively, mouth twitching._

"_Wait a minute", Dom backtracked. "I didn't say that."_

_Letty smirked. "Wait and see, Dominic. Let's just wait and see."_

_He rolled his eyes. "How do you want to handle telling everyone?"_

_She shrugged. "Oh, I thought you could do it", Letty said easily._

"_Let", he growled warningly. "How about you tell Mia, and I tell Vince."_

"_Scared of your baby sister, Toretto?"_

"_When I'm smart", he admitted. "She's tiny but fierce."_

"_Mia will be an aunt. I think she'll be thrilled", she smiled slightly. "Although, she might get up your ass about all the safe sex talks you've been trying to give her lately", Letty snickered. "And Vince will probably congratulate you on knocking me up. Stop stressing about it."_

"_I still think you should tell Mia while I'm far away."_

"_We're telling them together", she ordered with finality._

"_Hardass", he grumbled._

_She jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. "I thought you said no cursing in front of the baby!"_

_00_

**A/N: Wow, okay! This was interesting to write. What better time than Aiden's birthday for a chapter about how he happened? Let me know what you think!**


	15. Chapter 15

**An End and a Beginning**

**Summary: They didn't work out the first time around, but they have something tangible between them that forces them to be in each other's lives forever. They are getting a second chance, but with Dominic and Letty, nothing comes easy.**

Rating: M - eventually

Chapter 15

_First week of October:_

Dominic looked out the window when he heard his sister's Camry pull into the driveway Sunday afternoon. Then he watched in confusion when Mia got out with Aiden and _luggage_ in tow. Dom went for the door and stood on the porch. "What's goin' on?"

"We're moving in", Mia rolled her eyes. "Temporarily", she added.

"Mama's sick", Aiden explained, dragging his backpack on the ground behind him as he walked.

Dom looked towards Mia with raised eyebrows, as he went to take his son's bag before it got covered in dirt he got a quick hug for his trouble before Aiden ran into the house.

"Letty has the flu", she answered. "She kicked us out for the week so she wouldn't get us sick. Someone's gonna have to cover for her at the garage."

Dom nodded. "We'll work it out. She didn't want you to stay and take care of her?" he teased.

Mia snorted. "I offered. She gave me a _very_ explicit _no_. You know she hates that. She wouldn't even let me go to the store for her before we left. She said it would be a waste of food, and she was going to sleep for the next five days."

"Of course she did", Dom grumbled. "There's one car that's coming in to get detailed this week. Letty set the appointment for Tuesday. Can you do it if Leon helps?"

Mia nodded. "Yeah, I can manage."

"Thanks. You're the best", he kissed her temple and took the bag slung over her shoulder with an exaggerated grimace at the weight. "Geez, Mia, it's only for a week. This thing is like fifty pounds."

"You'd understand if you were female", she said blithely, moving gracefully up the porch steps with a smaller bag and Aiden's suitcase in hand.

"I'm sure", he chuckled.

Mia stopped with her hand on the door knob. "Dom-"

He sighed wearily. "You want me to go over there", Dom said tiredly. "You know I'm the last person she wants to see right now."

She shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not. But I don't think she's gotten out of bed since yesterday except to stumble to the bathroom. In any case, I'm sure you could stop her before she got to the closet to unlock the case that has her shotgun in it."

"That's… comforting", he said wryly.

"It was just a suggestion. If you don't, I promise I won't guilt-trip you for it", she promised sincerely.

"Can I get that in writing?"

Mia flashed a grin and went into the house.

Dom groaned. "Dammit."

0

Two hours later, Dom was packing a bag of his own, still positive this was a bad idea. He was going to blame any bad outcome on Mia, who was smiling smugly to herself while coloring with Aiden in his monster truck coloring book.

He set his bag by the front door and went over to the kitchen table where they had a pile of crayons dumped out in front of them. "Hey, that's pretty good", he told his son.

"Mhm, I can stay in the lines", Aiden answered distractedly.

"You'll be good for Aunt Mia, right?"

"Yes, Daddy. Are you going to take care of Mommy?"

Dom sighed mildly. "Yeah, that's the plan. We've got to have her feeling better, huh, buddy?"

"Mama's no fun when she's sick", the boy frowned.

Dom laughed under his breath. "I know. Trust me; she's not having any fun either. You know what? I bet Aunt Mia would help you make her a card telling her to get better soon. She'd like that. I can give it to her for you tomorrow."

"It will help her feel better?" Aiden looked at his father a bit confused. "It's just paper."

Dom kissed Aiden's head. "It always makes someone feel better to know people are thinking about them."

The boy shrugged in compliance. "Okay, Daddy. Auntie Mia, will you help me make a card for Mommy?"

Mia grinned and ruffled his hair. "You bet. Can I make her one too?"

"Call if you need me", Dom said as he walked to the door. "I'll talk to you later. Thanks, Mi."

0

Dom went to the store and picked up the essentials to dealing with a sick Letty, and then drove across town. He let himself into her apartment quietly and locked it again; he found the table lamp in the living room on low, and the only other light on was the one over the stove. He flipped the kitchen light on and unloaded the groceries, piling the boxes of cold medication on the counter next to several boxes of tissues.

He went down the hallway and around the corner towards her bedroom, turning the handle and pushing the door open, grateful that the only noise it made was from the bottom brushing the beige carpeting.

She was asleep, _snoring horrendously_, much to his amusement. He still felt like a burglar. But he rested a hand on her forehead, and decided her fever wasn't in a dangerous range, and if the medicine on her night table was anything to go by, she had already taken something. He crossed the room and sat in the smallish chaise lounge at the corner end of her bed. She would see him when she eventually woke up.

He turned on a low reading lamp, grateful for the low, yellowish glow that didn't disperse throughout the entire room, and he picked up her newspaper that she had nearly torn to pieces, sections strewn on the floor.

He was tempted to finish her crossword puzzle just to piss her off, but decided against it for the time being, not wanting to stoke the fire just yet.

Two hours later, she stirred slightly, pushing at her blankets with a groan before her eyes opened.

"You'd better damn well be a feverish nightmare", Letty croaked, glaring at him sleepily over her blue and silver comforter.

"Sorry, sweetheart, not a mirage", he said softly.

"Go 'way", she muttered. "I'm sick. You don't have to babysit me."

He chuckled, "Yeah, yeah. Just stuff it with all that, 'I am Letty, hear me roar crap'", he teased. "You're about as intimidating as a wet cat when you're sick, and you know it."

"Come on, dude. I do not have the energy to fight with you right now. Just go home", she whined.

Dom arched an eyebrow. "Did you just call me '_dude_'? How much medicine have you taken?"

"I took a dose of Nyquil. I read the bottle", she muttered, slightly irritated. "Go home, Dom. I'm going back to sleep."

"Uh-uh", he argued. "You can sleep in a few minutes. You need to drink something. Orange juice or Sprite?"

"I have apple juice and milk in the fridge", she said flatly.

He rolled his eyes and stood up. "I went to the store, so tell me what you want."

"Sprite."

He nodded and headed back towards the kitchen, muttering to himself. "Don't need a babysitter my _ass._"

"I heard that, Dom!" she called weakly.

0

Hours later, after Letty took another nap, she dragged herself out of bed to go take a shower – despite Dom's warning that if she passed out and he had to come in after her, she'd better not complain about him seeing her naked.

Twenty minutes later, he had opened her window and changed her sheets. The water was still running, and he went to knock on her bathroom door. "I haven't heard a thump. You alright?"

Her hoarse reply of, "I'll be out in a minute", was mostly drowned out by the pounding of water, but he heard it.

A few minutes later, the water was shut off. He leaned against her dresser, listening to her blow dryer that sounded like a freaking whirlwind even through the door. She finally came out wearing a grey tank top and red and black flannel pants, and she looked ready to drop.

He grabbed her by the waist as she wavered slightly, and walked her back to bed. She smacked his hands away when he tried to cover her back up, and she curled up on her side, holding her extra pillow against her chest. "Stop it, I'm hot."

He reached over her and checked her forehead again. "You've still got a fever."

"Thanks for the assessment, Dr. Know-it-all", she muttered weakly.

"Yeah, yeah, you're tough shit", he rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna get you some juice, and you're going to take some more medicine." He rummaged through a few drawers despite her protests, and then tossed a pair of fuzzy socks on the bed next to her. "Put those on."

"Bossy", Letty grumbled.

"That's right, I'm the boss-"

"Don't get cocky, Dominic."

"Do us both a favor and tone down your insanely large independent streak for a few days, and just let me take care of you at least until you can manage to be upright for an hour without getting dizzy and landing on your ass", he growled seriously, and then left the room before she could think of a comeback.

00

Some time the next afternoon:

"Tell me you don't plan to sit there and stare at me all week", Letty groaned in annoyance, "Because it's going to get boring and awkward really quick."

Dom tilted his head at her curiously. "I'm just trying to figure out why you switched sides of the bed", he offered.

"That's nice", she murmured thickly. "Just keep on wondering then."

"Do you have something better to do besides talking to me? Some pressing matter that will have you dragging your amazingly toned, exhausted ass out of bed?" he cocked a pointed eyebrow.

"Sleep", she retorted instantly, ignoring his remark about her backside. "My crossword puzzle – which you better have left the hell alone… catching up on all my television shows."

"Sounds thrilling", he drawled.

Her eyes rolled. "Jesus, Dom, you don't have to stay here. I've got the flu; I'm not dying or anything."

He glared. "Don't be cute. That shit isn't funny."

"Relax", she chided lazily. "You're just upset I'm not begging for a sponge bath."

Dom smirked. "Now, there's a fantasy", he acknowledged. "But I still want an answer to my question."

"What's that?"

"When did you get over your aversion to the left side of the bed? I seem to remember fighting you for the right side and losing."

She shrugged. "Maybe I was just being difficult."

"Let", he sighed exasperatedly.

"I took your side of the bed after we broke up. So what?"

"Don't make this conversation like a bad trip to the dentist."

"Hey, that wacky gas isn't half-bad", Letty retorted dryly, before finally deciding to give a straight answer. "It felt weird sleeping by myself after we'd been together so long. I didn't _get_ much sleep the first few months. I guess maybe I was waiting for you to get in bed behind me or something. I don't know. Finally I tried the other side of the bed. Trying to throw myself out of wack, I guess. It worked more or less. At least I got some sleep", she sighed. Then she shot him an irritated look. "Any other questions you wanna hit me with while I'm stuck here?" she asked sharply.

Dominic smiled slightly. "Sorry."

"Not half as sorry as you'll be if you messed with my crossword puzzle", she grumbled into her pillow.

"What do you want for dinner?"

She raised her head again incredulously. "Crackers", she said flatly.

He chuckled. "I'll heat up some of that soup Mia brought over earlier. Can't live on crackers, Let."

She made a face. "My stomach says otherwise."

000

Two weeks after Letty had gotten over the flu, Dom got a call from Susana. It was nearly nine o'clock in the evening. _If she was calling-_ he picked answered the phone.

"I think I made it worse", she said by way of a greeting.

He blinked. "What did you do?" Dominic sighed exasperatedly.

"I swear we were just talking", she said tiredly. "My daughter does not know how to deal with her feelings, and I'll take most of the blame for that. Long story short, she walked out saying she was going to beat the hell out of something."

"Maybe you should just _let_ her", he rolled his eyes. "She'll come back when she cools off."

"She's hurting, and I don't know how to fix that", Susana admitted quietly.

He groaned. "I know where you're going with this. Do _not_ ask me to go get her. She's avoiding me like the plague."

"She needs you. Even if neither of you want to admit it."

He snorted. "_I'll _admit it. But I'm not going to tell _her_ that. I like my testicles how they are, thanks."

"Letty doesn't need _or_ want a Knight in Shining Armor, Dominic. Just you", she said quietly.

Dom laughed under his breath. "It almost sounded like there was a compliment somewhere in there."

She sighed. "I know I've been hard on you. You got my teenage daughter pregnant, if you recall. The two of you started a family far before it would have been considered a good idea, and you _both_ suffered from it. Your father and I both struggled; watching your kids make mistakes is hard. The two of you needed time to grow up… maybe you could have done it together, but we won't ever know that for certain. Letty is an amazing mother, and you've become a good man – and a good father. And despite everything, you still take care of the mother of your child. That counts for _everything_, Dominic. She'll come back to you eventually. Just give her a little more time to recover. Letty has always known what she wants. She's just been certain she couldn't have it."

"Alright, alright, I'll go talk to her", he said wearily.

"I'll stay with Aiden until you come back. He's already asleep."

Dominic shut his phone, debating on throwing it for a brief second, but shoved it in his pocket. He grabbed his jacket and keys, hopping in his car to drive to the garage, parking his behind hers on the street. Once he got out of the car, he heard the loud, repetitive clanging of iron against metal. He walked out behind the garage towards the junked car they had torn apart for spare parts.

Letty was beating the shit out of it with a tire iron. She was even wearing her fingerless leather gloves to keep a good grip. _She meant business._ Dom almost grinned. He approached cautiously, but stopped with enough distance between them that she wouldn't hit him.

"Hey!" he called sarcastically. "Your mommy called and said you ran away from home."

She faltered briefly and turned only to glare at him viciously and growl an irritated, "_Piss off!_" before she put another dent in the door.

Dominic groaned. He _hated_ that look. "Letty, _stop_. The car's dead, okay?"

"What part of 'piss off' don't you understand?" she hissed, taking another swing.

"The part where you don't actually want me to leave", he mumbled under his breath and then approached her silently until she raised the tire iron again and he grabbed it firmly. She attempted to jerk it out of his hand, but it didn't loosen his hold.

"_Dom-_"

"I said no", he said seriously. "You're done, okay? You killed it. Knock it off before you hurt yourself."

"I am so pissed off right now- just let me hit the fucking car, Dominic!"

But he could feel the tremors shooting through her body; her arm was shaking, her fingers loosening their grip on the tire iron. He pulled it away from her and dropped it on the ground, spinning her around and wrapping his arms around her. She went limp against him, tears soaking through his shirt.

"Sorry", she muttered against his a few minutes later, her breath hot and damp against his shirt. "I know I've been acting like a crazy-ass lunatic."

"You say that like it should be news to me", he teased.

Letty dug her nails into his side for a brief second. "I'll just take back that apology then?" she raised an eyebrow; stepping backwards to put some space between them as she quickly wiped her face dry, fully intending to pretend she hadn't lost hold of her emotions for even a minute.

"Back to whatever store you bought it from", Dom rolled his eyes. "I'd demand a full refund too, because that was pretty shitty."

"What?" she grumbled. "You want it written in blood or something?"

"Nothing nearly that dramatic", he said wryly, reaching for her hand again. "Come on."

She raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Why?"

"Because it's nearly ten o'clock and I had to come out here to track your ass down. The least you could do right now is shut up and follow me", he said pointedly.

She tilted her head back to look skyward and let out a dramatic sigh, "Fine."

"You. Are. _Killing me here_", Dominic gritted out through his teeth. He grabbed her wrist, tugging her after him back in the direction of the garage, ignoring her stifled laughter as he pulled out his key to unlock the back door and let them in.

"Why are we in here?" Letty sighed tiredly as he flipped the lights on for the back end of the shop.

He just gestured to the couch in the corner. "Take a seat." When he came back a few minutes later after digging through the fridge, two beers in hand, she was leaning against the arm of the couch. Dom sighed. "Are you being difficult on purpose, or can't you help yourself?" he asked off-handedly as he took a seat, sprawling over half the couch.

"I- don't know", she admitted, shaking her head.

"C'mere."

She smiled warily, eyeing his arm that was stretched across the back of the couch invitingly. Her insides ached. _She wanted, so badly, to just let him hold her, remembering the way being in his arms seemed to just make all her problems go away._ "Dom-"

"I have your beer", he reminded lazily. "Not gonna bite ya."

"It's not the biting that worries me", she muttered, slightly amused. _It was the licking and sucking that followed that usually got her into trouble._ But she slid onto the couch properly and reached for the bottle he was taunting her with.

He caught her wrist gently enough she could have pulled free with little resistance. Their staring contest was a brief battle of wills, and Letty gave in with an irritated curse before settling against his side. _Every time he touched her these days, she swore she felt her resolve crumble a little._

"Our world isn't going to explode just because we cuddle, Let", he chuckled.

"We're _not_ cuddling", she argued roughly even as her head dropped wearily to his shoulder, swallowing a mouthful from her bottle.

He grinned into her hair. "Whatever you say", Dom teased.

"I don't wanna talk about it", Letty warned seriously.

"The argument you had with your mom, or this?"

"Any of it", she shook her head. "I'm just so damn sick of people telling me how my life should be."

They sat in silence for a while, his hand playing through her hair, and he felt her relax marginally against him. She sighed as he went to work rubbing the tension from her neck. Her head lulled forward lazily.

"I miss this", he said quietly.

"You giving me massages?" she tilted her head up with a smirk, "Because I definitely miss that too."

He tugged gently on a lock of her hair. "Things used to be so easy. I miss when we could just be us."

"Do you?" she wondered curiously.

"You can't tell?"

_They'd known each other for so many years, practically being each others' best friend. It was why they had worked so well together. And it was why things had gone downhill so fast when she started shutting him out. In all fairness, she had shut everyone out. But he was the only one she had never let back in._

Letty sighed. "I guess we've both gotten good at hiding our emotions", she admitted finally.

"You want me to drive you home?"

"In a little while", she answered softly, turning to him with an expression that was more serious than it had been for a while. "Thank you."

"For what?" he wondered curiously.

"This… and you taking care of me when I was sick. You're always here when I need you. Even if I don't know how to- I just want you to know that I notice. I'm not completely oblivious, and I appreciate it."

"Let-"

She nudged him with her elbow. "I'm being nice. Don't ruin it", she murmured with a bit of amusement.

He chuckled. "Okay."

00

_Flashback:_

_They had been dating for nearly a year, and had declared Friday night as date night – whether they went out or had the house to themselves for the night._

_Tonight was a night in, and neither of them was complaining. Between Tony, Susana, and their idiot friends, they were hard-pressed to find real time to be alone together sometimes._

_Letty had finished closing up the garage for him and sent him on a pizza run, agreeing to meet back at his house. It had taken Dom a good half hour longer than it should have to get back home. Letty wasn't waiting downstairs when he got there, but as soon as he got to the stairs, he couldn't help but grin._

_She had left him a trail of clothing to follow. He found her shirt half way up the stairs, and her jeans at the top. He collected her 'lost' items on the way. Her bra was in the middle of the hallway, and he chuckled at the sight of her panties hanging from his doorknob._

_His hand stopped on the knob, hearing a familiar pattern of sighs and gasps coming from the other side of the door. Dom shook his head in amusement and opened the door quietly to enter the room. He saw her lying on his bed, not naked like he had assumed. But she was wearing one of his t-shirts which he found even hotter, with one of her hands busy between her legs._

"_You started without me", he chided mildly, closing the door and leaning against it, after locking it for good measure, pausing to watch her for a moment, taking in her flushed skin._

"_You're late", she managed around a gasp, turning her head in his direction. "I see you found my clothes."_

_He smirked and tossed the pile towards the dirty laundry basket, not caring where the clothing landed for the time being. Dom set the hot pizza box on his dresser and approached the bed, pulling his shirt over his head before nudging her knees apart to settle between her legs. He removed her hands, nipping playfully at her inner thigh before his mouth attached itself to her, growling at the taste of wetness on her skin as he worked quickly to bring her to the release she had been so close to moments ago._

_It only took a few minutes before Letty was coming apart underneath him, back arching violently and letting out a throaty cry._

_He waited for her to fall limp on the bed before sliding up her body, pausing only to suck playfully at her navel. Dom grinned as all her muscles spasmed again. He kissed her collarbone. "You're beautiful", he murmured._

_She chuckled, voice rough. "Lookin' to get laid tonight?"_

"_Yes", he admitted with a laugh. "But it's still true."_

_Letty tugged him upwards to catch his mouth, kissing him forcefully. "Suck up", she teased._

"_You know I love you, right?"_

_She arched an eyebrow. __**He was laying it on awfully thick.**__ "You might have mentioned it a few times." The look he fixed her with made her laugh, and she gave in. "I love you too."_

00

**A/N: Oh, would you look at that! A sexy little flashback for you, and a long chapter... Can you see the progress happening here?**


	16. Chapter 16

**An End and a Beginning**

**Summary: They didn't work out the first time around, but they have something tangible between them that forces them to be in each other's lives forever. They are getting a second chance, but with Dominic and Letty, nothing comes easy.**

Rating: M - eventually

Chapter 16

"_I'm glad you came", Letty said to her father._

_She had offered to take him back to the airport for his flight home, and Luis suggested she let him buy them lunch before he left. So, they had found a café on the strip that had outdoor seating._

"_It's been a while since I've seen my grandson", Luis smiled, then chuckled at the dirty look she gave him. "I've missed you too, mija. Your son's birthday seemed like the perfect opportunity-"_

"_To drop a bomb?" she calmly raised an eyebrow. "Marriage, Papi? Really?"_

"_It took you long enough. I was wondering if you were going to stew in silence", he mused._

"_What is she? A twenty something?" Letty sighed._

_Luis shook his head. "Leticia, I know how old I am. And I'm much too old for such nonsense. You should know better. Her name is Julia, and I assure you, everything is age appropriate."_

_She grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I just had to make sure this wasn't some crazy mid-life crisis, or something."_

"_A mid-life crisis happens when people decide their life is half over, and that they didn't act reckless enough when they were younger. I, however, sewed plenty of wild oats in my youth, and have no desire to do it again."_

_She grimaced, and shifted the direction of the conversation slightly. "Do I get to meet her?"_

_Luis smiled. "We'll have to make arrangements. I told you, you should come visit in the spring."_

"_Is mom really okay with you getting married again?" she wondered seriously._

"_She said she was happy for me. I believe she meant it", he said honestly. "We have done a lot of mending to our friendship over the years – not just for you, but for us too. Because we both had a deep love for each other at one time. I see a lot of your mother and myself in the relationship you have with Dominic."_

"_Oh, that's promising", Letty muttered._

_He chuckled. "That shows what you know about me and your mother. Love is complicated. It can lead us down an unexpected path. People say that sometimes you can't help who you fall in love with, and that may be true. But __**treating someone**__ with love, consideration, and respect – all the things that it takes to make a relationship work – that will always be a choice. Your mother and I let our marriage fall apart because we allowed small things to become problems – so big that we couldn't fix them anymore. I don't want that for you."_

"_Are you all conspiring against me?" she said tiredly._

"_I can't just be concerned for the well-being of my daughter?" he smiled, letting her know that he had indeed been let into the loop that was her mother and Mia – and occasionally Vince, when he felt like dicking around in her love life. She groaned. "You're not as happy as you used to be. We just want you to have a fulfilled life with as few regrets as possible."_

"_And you think that my regrets so far will be demolished if Dominic and I get back together."_

"_You have your mother's flair for the dramatic when you're upset", Luis said mildly. "I made no such statement."_

"_You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just at a loss. Mia thinks I'm making everything harder than it needs to be. But she doesn't understand that when I look at him, all I see most of the time is that he's still angry that I broke us up. And I don't know if he'll ever forgive me for that. Not even getting into how we've hurt each other- it makes my heart ache."_

"_Time can heal many wounds – if you let it, and stop poking at the sore spots. As the days, weeks, and months go by, we get more insight into the past, and our perspective changes. But sometimes, all it takes is an honest apology. And we usually don't know that it was the one thing we needed to obliterate our anger and pain. Now, whether you need to hear an apology or give one, that's on you. People don't always know that they've hurt us, Letty. Sometimes you need to tell them."_

"_Is this my life lesson for the week?" she asked, mildly amused._

"_It's just some fatherly advice. What you choose to do with it is up to you."_

_Letty nodded and glanced down at her watch. "We need to get you to the airport."_

_0_

_Luis hugged her before pulling his bag from the trunk. "I love you, mija. Listen to your heart. It knows what it wants."_

"_I'll miss you."_

_He kissed her forehead. "We'll speak soon. Be happy, Leticia. You deserve it."_

_Letty watched as he had his ticket scanned and then waved goodbye as he walked through the glass doors before getting back into her car to drive home so she could have a few hours alone before she went back to pick up her son._

00

Thanksgiving came quickly. Mia began the season making pies and pumpkin rolls. Their apartment smelled like a bakery. She had somehow managed to strong-arm Letty into making cookies, which turned out fantastically, but nearly destroyed the kitchen.

On the day of, Mia left early to take over the Toretto's kitchen, taking nearly all the cooked food in the house with her. Letty cleaned up the mess from breakfast and went to take a shower, leaving her son to his own devices. Aiden was seven, and usually her taking twenty minutes to shower and blow dry her hair resulted in nothing more than him taking over her television to watch cartoons while she finished getting ready.

Today, however, those twenty minutes meant mischief.

She thought nothing of it when she got out of the shower and heard silence, figuring he was in his room dumping out his crate of Legos. When she finally went to check, she was so stunned, she didn't know whether to get angry or laugh.

Then there was a knock on the door.

She opened the door without bothering to look out the peephole, already flustered, only to be further surprised to see Dominic.

"Tell me I didn't drunk text everyone and say we were having dinner at my place today", she said dryly as she let him into the apartment and shut the door.

He laughed. "No, Mia sent me to the store. She didn't have enough- whatever it was. I got a list."

"Yes, but did you get what was _on_ the list?"

Dom nodded exasperatedly. "I finished shopping. I thought I'd swing by and see if you wanted a ride." He raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be leaving about now?"

She groaned, raking a hand through her hair. "I don't care why you're here, but I'll owe you one if can clean up the mess so I can finish getting ready."

He looked at her suspiciously. "What mess?"

She pointed a finger in his direction. "Today, he's your son", Letty muttered.

"Aiden? What did he do?"

She shook her head a bit incredulously at the situation. "You know those hand turkeys they made at school?"

He nodded warily.

"Yeah, well, he decided to make another one while I was in the shower. There's a hand print of orange paint on his bedroom wall."

"He got the craft paint out of the cupboard? And put it on the wall?"

"After pouring it onto one of the dinner plates", she rolled her eyes, nearly laughing.

"He knows better than that", Dom said with a frown.

"That's what I said", Letty sighed. "But I can't decide whether to be angry about it, or tell him it's a cute hand turkey."

Dom shook his head at her in amusement. "Is he still orange?"

"I put him in the empty bath tub and told him not to touch anything when you knocked."

"What do you want me to do?"

"If you can make his hands _not orange_, that'd be fantastic. And he's probably got it on his shirt by now. I only need fifteen minutes and I'll be ready to go. I shoved a towel against the wall in case the paint runs. If you get done before I do, can you check the paint bottle and make sure it's washable? It's on the kitchen counter. I know it's non-toxic. I'm going to have to find a way to get it off the wall or paint over it."

"Okay, and are we punishing or cuddling?" he teased.

"Will you tell him I said no video games for two days? And remind him that he is not to write or paint on the walls ever again, _period_? This is a lease, for Christ's sake."

"You're getting soft in your old age", he joked, bumping her playfully as he passed her and walked down the hallway.

She made an irritated noise, "Am not!"

Dominic leaned in the doorway to the bathroom, finding his son standing in the tub with his clothes on, hands dangling lazily in mid-air. "Got caught orange-handed, huh?" he asked.

"He has no idea what that means", Letty muttered behind him.

"You called Daddy?" Aiden nearly whined. _He was a good kid, and was usually content being the center of attention. But when he got in trouble he was embarrassed as hell._

She eyed her son. "No, I didn't. He just has incredibly good timing. But don't think for one minute that I wouldn't have told him anyway. If you wanted to play with the paint, you should have asked me, and I would have given you paper for it or something. You know you're not allowed to draw on the walls, kiddo." She arched an eyebrow for affect.

"And you're grounded from video games until Saturday", Dom added seriously. "That's two days from now."

"I'm sorry, Mom."

Letty grinned briefly. "I know you are. But you're still grounded. Daddy's gonna get you cleaned up while I finish getting ready." She squeezed Dom's shoulder before heading back to her room. "Thanks. Things always manage to go to hell if Mia has to leave before breakfast."

0

Mia grumbled at both of them for being late even though they showed up together and she wanted to coo at them and enforce group hugging. _They ought to be grateful for her restraint, really – even if she couldn't keep herself from laughing when they told her why they were late. _

So she handed them a huge mixing bowl and ordered them to go make the stuffing. Mia smiled innocently at the identical looks of shock they gave her.

Dom grumbled half-heartedly about Letty being a safety hazard in the kitchen and Letty had picked up a handful of croutons and tossed them at him. Most just bounced off his chest and landed in the bowl.

Both hands rested on her hips, both annoyed and amused. "You know", Letty started calmly, "I am not completely hopeless in the kitchen. Cooking lessons with Mia have gone fairly well. This leads me to believe that the problem in the kitchen isn't me."

"She's right", Mia offered absently. "Letty does alright as long as she's got a recipe."

"Are you trying to say that nearly burning down the kitchen _three times_ was a fluke?" Dom asked.

"Nope", Letty shook her head. "See, I finally figured out that it was your fault."

"You love saying that, don't you?" he said dryly.

She grinned. "I do. But I'm serious. Half the time you were trying to show me how to cook something, I was thinking about getting into your pants. And the other half… well, it usually ended with your tongue down my throat. I've never had that problem with Mia", Letty laughed.

"Ouch!" Mia joked playfully.

"So, what?" Dominic chuckled. "I keep my tongue to myself, you don't eyeball my crotch, and the kitchen stays in one piece?"

"It's a theory."

"Let's find out then", he said finally.

0

"I was right; you were wrong", Letty sing-songed playfully, stretching her legs out to nudge his leg before dropping her feet into his lap.

Dom rolled his eyes at her. "Yes, congratulations, you didn't burn down the house."

"And my peach cobbler is delicious.

Dinner was eaten early like always. It had been noisy and fun. They cleaned up the mess together, making it a quick job. Now, an hour or so later, they had brought out the dessert and made another pot of coffee.

Letty was still quite pleased with herself for proving Dominic wrong, and he was indulging her childish behavior with a bit of amusement.

She had been in a bit of a funk for the last week or so, but neither had had time to talk. The garage had been busy with people coming in to get their cars checked before driving to see their families over the holiday weekend.

The rest of the dishes were loaded into the dishwasher and their family and friends trickled back into the living room, either to watch the football game or put a movie in.

He caught her before she followed. "Let's take a walk."

She glanced down at her dark grey, long sleeve shirt, deciding she wouldn't need a jacket, and followed him out the back door. They walked about half a mile, through a few of their old shortcuts to get to the place where there was a stretch of train tracks that was isolated by trees on both sides.

Letty headed for a boulder that sat back about thirty feet from the tracks.

It amazed him that when she was upset, she nearly always managed to find a rock to sit on if she was outside.

"You wanna clue me in?" he asked finally.

"I went to see Victor last week", she said.

He looked at her sharply. "Excuse me?"

"Marcus is dead."

"His kid brother?" Dominic wondered. "What happened?"

"Gang fight", she said flatly. "He got shot – about three months ago."

"Ah, shit", he sighed. _They didn't see a lot of people that they had hung around with when they were younger. But they knew from hearsay that quite a few of them had gotten into some trouble over the years._ "What the hell were you doing going out there by yourself?"

"He called. I went", Letty shrugged.

"_I get that_", he growled. "I'm asking why you went alone. You and I both know how dangerous that neighborhood is. You're lucky no one jacked your car – and that could have been the least of your problems."

Her eyes rolled. "I know it's _been a while_, but I can still handle myself, Dominic. It's pretty quiet over there these days anyhow."

"Can you do us both a favor and not go looking for trouble? We left the car scene and all that could have come with it behind for a reason. I mean, I know we were about as neutral as Switzerland, but that couldn't have lasted like that forever."

Her hands scrubbed over her face. "I know", she muttered. "Just before things got really bad, too. I miss it sometimes though. That rush of adrenaline, every once and a while I want it so bad my teeth hurt."

"Aiden saved us, Let. You know that. We were so reckless; it was only a matter of time before something went really badly", Dominic said quietly.

"You're right. It doesn't mean I don't wish I could just get behind the wheel of a fast car and _drive_ though."

He snorted. "Who do you think you're talking to? I get it, Letty. I really do."

She sighed. "I know."

"We should go back. Before they drag out the home movies", Dom shook his head.

"I thought we hid the really embarrassing ones", she complained.

"Aiden found them in my closet last week", he admitted wryly.

She groaned. "Awesome. You think we can melt them in the oven?"

00

**A/N: Another chapter for you all. Enjoy! Let me know what you think. =)**


	17. Chapter 17

**An End and a Beginning**

**Summary: They didn't work out the first time around, but they have something tangible between them that forces them to be in each other's lives forever. They are getting a second chance, but with Dominic and Letty, nothing comes easy.**

Rating: M – for the next chapter! Yay!

Chapter 17

Christmas:

The Toretto house and Letty's apartment were full of Christmas-y stuff. Mia had gone overboard this year with garland and tinsel at both places. Letty had been shocked to wake up one morning two weeks back to find Dominic, Vince, Leon, _and _Jesse being bossed around and hanging things up around the apartment. They had rearranged her _furniture _for god's sake.

Mia had calmly told her that they were making room for the Christmas tree.

Letty had been ready to start her yearly diatribe about messes of pine needles that always managed to stab through her socks, and _didn't she just find a few dried up needles from last year not that long ago?_

A look from Dominic had shut her up before she could get the words out. She wasn't sure how long it had been since _that_ had happened, but it was long enough to make it memorable.

She gave up. No one had listened to her opinions about it last year either, but at least they had taken care of this nonsense while she had been out. Letty had grabbed her bowl of cereal and headed back to her room to shower.

0

On Christmas Eve, Letty and Mia packed up both of their cars with overnight bags, presents and more food than they would all eat, and took Aiden with them. They had decided a few years back that it would be easier to just all spend the night at the Toretto house than try to pack everything up to get their early for Christmas morning.

They spent the evening like they usually did, having dinner, watching Christmas movies and organizing the presents under the tree – occasionally shaking them and making amusing guesses.

Aiden got to stay up until ten o'clock, but Letty had fallen asleep halfway through _Scrooge_ at nine-thirty. She woke up a few hours later to Dominic shaking her shoulder. She squinted at him in confusion when he laughed, and realized that they were alone in the living room.

"Hey, party animal. I think it's time to put your ass to bed."

She groaned. "Tell me I didn't have two glasses of wine and fall asleep."

He smirked. "You didn't. You had a one and a half. I grabbed your glass when you fell asleep before it could hit the floor. Mia said you can crash with her if I could wake you up."

"That's so embarrassing", she let out a self-deprecating laugh. "My foot's asleep. Help me up."

"Your son stayed awake longer than you did", he teased as she hopped on one foot.

"Yeah, give him a glass of wine and he'd be out like a light too", she grumbled.

Dominic shook his head in amusement. "Now, that's bad parenting."

She grinned. "Eh, I got pregnant at nineteen. What the hell do I know?"

He brushed a few stray hairs back from her face. "You're a really good mom."

"Thanks." She smiled a bit pensively. "Look- we should probably get to sleep. You know Aiden won't let us sleep in tomorrow."

He chuckled, "Extra strong coffee in the morning?"

Letty nodded emphatically. "I'm wearing my fuzzy slippers to breakfast", she grumbled. The she tilted her head towards the clock. "It's after midnight."

He raised an eyebrow. "Not waiting for New Year's?"

She shrugged, leaning up on her toes and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Merry Christmas, Dominic."

He caught her belt loop before she could back away completely. "Get over here", he growled playfully.

Her hands braced on his chest as she leaned back with a grin on her face. "Awfully presumptuous, aren't you?"

"If I put you under the damn mistletoe, will you stop playing hard to get for two seconds?"

"Two seconds?" she chuckled. "I can do that."

It was just a gentle brush of his mouth against hers, but it made her lips tingle. Her forehead rested against his shoulder and she let herself enjoy the warmth of his arms around her.

_Letty didn't know how much longer she could force herself to keep him at arms' length – or if it even really made sense to do it anymore. She resolved herself to the inevitable. She was going to cave eventually. It was only a matter of time._

Finally, she pulled away. "I'm gonna go to bed… before I fall asleep standing up."

He smiled, slightly amused. "Night, Let."

00

_Third week of January:_

Letty kept stealing glances at the clock in her kitchen impatiently.

_5:38 pm._

Her scowl deepened. Dominic was supposed to have picked Aiden up from her apartment at four, and he hadn't returned any of her texts. Their son was playing complacently in her bedroom, watching a movie and sprawled on her bed with several toys and snacking on some popcorn. Letty knew she'd probably have kernels in her sheets later, but at the moment, she wasn't concerned.

Ten minutes later, Mia walked in the door with an irritated look on her face, and found Letty in the kitchen poking around in the pantry, considering if she should start dinner.

"Where is Aiden?"

Letty eyed her with pursed lips. "Watching a movie on my bed", she answered finally. "Where's your brother?"

"Do you know what day it is?"

"It's Thursday. What's your point, Mia?"

"It's the nineteenth. Of January", Mia said tightly.

Letty blinked, glancing towards the calendar. "Okay", she breathed.

"I've let a lot of stuff go, Letty", Mia sighed tiredly. "But I really can't believe you dropped the ball on this one the way you did."

"What was I supposed to do, Mia? I tried. He yelled at me, told me to fuck off, and not bother coming back. So, here I am – fucking off just like he told me to – and you're yelling at me."

Mia's eyebrows shot up into violent arcs. "That was over six years ago! You had just dumped him a few weeks before that, and you approached him on our dead mother's birthday like nothing had happened. Are you really so selfish to take his reaction personally? This isn't about you, Letty. And it's not about whatever mess you and my brother have turned your relationship into. You don't think he tells me to leave him alone every damn time I go to make sure he's alright? He's needed _you_."

"Yeah, well, I couldn't tell, with the way he avoids me like a fucking plague for a week", she muttered.

"_Letty!_"

She winced. "Alright", Letty sighed. "Where is he?"

"Where else?" Mia said flatly.

"Watch Aiden?"

Mia nodded, "Of course. I'll take him to Dad's and we'll spend the night. You just worry about my brother."

"You're scary when you're mad", Letty shook her head.

"I learned from some of the best", she said wryly.

Letty went to go speak to her son, and let him know that he would go see Grandpa with Aunt Mia, and would see Daddy tomorrow. She grabbed a black hoodie from her closet and pulled it on over her blue tank top, glanced at her jeans and decided they would be comfortable enough. She slipped on socks and shoes, kissed her son's head and carried his packed bag out to the living room.

"Is he alright?" Letty asked seriously.

Mia nodded slightly. "He's okay. He has always just preferred to be alone, except for you. You should have been there – even if he did a _spectacular_ job of running you off."

"Mia, I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?" she said quietly, moving to give her friend a hug. "She was your mom too. He shouldn't be running you off either."

"He was doing paperwork when I left."

"That's- well, it's a hell of a lot better than the last time I talked to him about it", Letty sighed. "You're right; my timing has always sucked."

"I'd apologize for yelling at you, but I really don't want to", Mia said honestly.

Letty smirked, stopping with her hand on the door handle. "I know. I don't expect you to."

Mia gave her a nod of understanding. "I love you even when you're being a dumbass."

"I love you too", Letty chuckled as she left, closing the door behind her.

0

Half an hour later, Letty got to her second destination. She told Mia she would go talk to Dominic – and she would. She just had a few stops to make first.

The cemetery was dark and completely silent as she walked through it, finding the proper grave marker. She crouched in front of it, laying a rose in front of the headstone.

"Hey, Sylvie. We miss you", Letty said softly.

_She had been nine and Dom had been twelve when his mother died. Letty remembered how good Sylvia had been to her, treating her like she was another daughter. She had loved the woman as much as her own mother._

"You'd be proud of your son. He's a good father – just like Tony. He takes care of us." She paused to swipe tears from her eyes. "Even when I don't let him… I really miss your advice. Maybe you could figure out how to tell me how to do this? I know", she chuckled. "It's not like I take advice all that well anyways. I still do everything the hard way. I wish you were here to meet your grandson. He would have loved you."

She stood up, staring at the date engraved on the tombstone. Sylvia hadn't made it to forty. _Life was short._

"I'm going to try to fix this", she promised softly before walking away. "I just don't know how long it's going to take…"

Letty got back into her car and drove towards downtown. She stopped at the restaurant they frequented for Chinese take-out and then headed to the garage with her bags in tow. She would sit with his ass all night if she had to, but her stomach refused to skip dinner.

When she got to the garage, she found the door locked and pulled out her key. Letty announced her arrival by slamming the door shut behind her as she entered.

Dom's voice carried more than a hint of annoyance as it echoed through the garage. "I told you to go home, Mia."

"Try again", Letty snorted.

Seconds later, he appeared in the doorway of the office looking shocked as hell. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

His tone got her back up, and she answered before she could help herself. "I'm avoiding Mia's fantastic guilt-trip so she'll quit yelling about how I'm a bitch and you need me. What's your excuse?"

Dom blinked, eying her warily. "What's in the bag?" he asked finally.

"Dinner", she growled, heading for the couch in the corner.

"You want a beer?"

"I'm surprised there's any left", she muttered under her breath. "No", she answered, raising her voice slightly. "I'm good."

_It had been a long time. Maybe she shouldn't have been making assumptions…_

Dominic came back with a bottle in hand, stopping a few feet from the couch. He took note that she had purposefully taken the left side, putting him in the wall corner, and then saw the bottle in her hand. "A Yoohoo, Letty? Really?" he teased, passing her to get to the empty spot in the couch, dodging the bags at her feet.

"I saw them in the fridge at the gas station and wanted one", she muttered. Letty shoved a bag of containers in his direction and started digging through her own.

They sorted through the bags in silence, and finally got things situated. Letty found the sets of chopsticks and tossed one at him before she pulled her legs up, resting the container on her knees and started eating her sweet and sour chicken.

She usually got something with a little more spice, but she didn't think her stomach would be nice to her considering how stressed out she was at the moment.

"Let? You wanna tell me what you're doing here?" he asked calmly.

"I told you", she snorted. "Mia yelled at me."

"That worked?"

"Guilt trip, yelling, whatever", Letty muttered irritably, picking through her rice.

"I didn't really think you'd be here ever again - not for this."

"I went to the cemetery", she said finally.

"Did you?"

"Dominic, can you just shut up? I really don't want to talk right now."

He sighed. "You're not going to let me apologize?"

"Why should I?"

Dom shut his mouth for a few minutes. But he knew he couldn't let it go left unsaid any longer than it already had.

"I'm sorry."

She groaned, jaw clenching. "I'm begging you to just drop it."

His mother's birthday was four months before his own, and he had been approaching twenty-three when Letty had ended them for good. When she had approached him on his mom's birthday a few weeks later, he was still furious at her, and drunk.

He had hated her then, and he'd said as much. They'd fought viciously, but it wasn't until he had called her a heartless bitch that she had slapped him and then walked away.

She hadn't talked to him for two weeks.

Mia and their parents had driven Aiden back and forth between houses for visits even if she hadn't shared the details of their argument. And she had ignored him completely at the garage.

When she came back one day and acted like nothing had happened, that's what they all had done. But he hadn't seen her on his mom's birthday again - not until today.

He hadn't known until he'd seen her face when she stepped into the garage just how badly that night still haunted her.

"Letty, I need you to look at me", he said quietly.

"Leave it alone, Dom!"

"I can't. Not when your face looks like that."

"God, just shut up already!" she snarled angrily.

"Baby-"

She turned the full force of her glare on him, daring him to continue his statement with that moniker.

He grimaced. "What I said to you that day- it was mean, and it wasn't true."

"What's your point?" Letty demanded flatly. "I told you I needed to be able to focus on myself without worrying about our relationship for a while, and when I came to find you despite all that, you treated me like shit. We were kids, and we were stupid. I wasn't in a place emotionally to be able to just shake that off. What did you expect me to do?"

"Are you going to be angry forever?"

"Who says I'm angry?"

"Your tone and eye twitch", he muttered dryly. "I was angry and I said it to hurt you-"

"Good job on that one, jackass."

His mouth twitched. _Now they were getting somewhere._ "I'm sorry", he repeated earnestly. "Forgive me?" Dom held his left hand in her direction and waited.

Letty gave him a baleful, but irritated look before sighing heavily, knowing it was time to let some things go, and sliding her hand into his. "Okay." When he not only didn't let go, but also tugged pointedly on her hand, she cocked a suspicious eyebrow. "What now?" she demanded sharply.

"Come here."

Her eyes rolled, but she moved until she found herself straddling his lap on her knees. "So, are we hugging it out, or what?" Letty asked skeptically.

"Something like that", he smirked.

"We've got problems", she said dryly, shaking her head.

"I disagree", he teased. "You in my lap? Never a problem."

"I'll keep that in mind." She let her forehead rest on his shoulder. "That being said- you need me, you have to tell me", she murmured, "Because I really don't know what to do with us anymore."

She felt his hands squeeze her thighs.

"When you stop over-thinking it, let me know."

Letty sighed. "Yeah, okay."

00

**A/N: Okay, notice this is the chapter I upped the rating to M – because I don't want to forget for the upcoming chapter. You've all been waiting for it, I know! Me too. To all the readers and reviewers – this story hit 200 reviews with the last chapter and that **_**insane**_**. You guys are all awesome for that! Thanks for reading and putting your ideas in my head.**

**The next chapter will be the big turning point for their relationship. So, maybe this is just the beginning…**


	18. Chapter 18

**An End and a Beginning**

**Summary: They didn't work out the first time around, but they have something tangible between them that forces them to be in each other's lives forever. They are getting a second chance, but with Dominic and Letty, nothing comes easy.**

Rating: M!

Chapter 18

Valentine's Day:

Mia had been wary of Valentine's Day, as far as Dom and Letty were concerned, long before they had even gotten together. They always had their own way of doing things that didn't make sense to anyone else.

Letty had hidden it well, but the last Valentine's Day that she had spent with Trevor, she had been in a bit of a funk. She had brushed Mia off completely when asked. Mia wasn't sure what to expect this year, but she was completely shocked when Letty came from her bedroom, mouth twitching slightly and trying to hide a grin.

"What's up with you?" Mia demanded, raising an eyebrow over her coffee cup.

"Nothing", Letty sang pleasantly, digging for her flavored creamer in the back of the fridge.

"Uh-huh", Mia said skeptically.

"What?"

"You're awfully chipper what with this being your least favorite holiday and all", Mia said slowly.

"Who said that?"

Mia looked at her friend incredulously. "_You did!_ All through our teenage years, all I heard from you is what a crock of commercialism Hallmark turned Valentine's Day into."

Letty sighed dramatically. "You're ruining my mood, girl. I'm gonna jump in the shower, and head to the garage early since Dom has Aiden."

"You're acting weird!" Mia shouted after her.

"It's your imagination!" Letty called back as she slammed her bedroom door. She glanced at the small pink box sitting innocently on her night table and grinned. "Asshole", she muttered affectionately under her breath before heading into her bathroom to get ready.

0

Dominic dropped Aiden off at school and then headed for the garage. He saw Letty's car, and was only mildly surprised she beat him there. He went inside to find her, and saw the light on in the office. Dom _was _surprised to find her sitting Indian-style on top of the desk.

He leaned in the doorway with an amused grin on his face. "Comfy?"

"The desk needs a cushion."

He eyed the box in her hand, and she tossed him a candy heart back that was a different color but had the same message as the one he had left on top of her box.

'_Miss you_'.

"Breaking and entering… such a romantic V-Day tradition, Dominic", she teased with a grin.

"I only entered", he smirked, advancing in her direction. "I have a key."

"Yeah, I'm still iffy on how that happened."

He planted his hands on the work desk on either side of her and gave her a soft, chaste kiss on the lips. "Missed you, Let."

She returned his kiss, standing up, but allowing him to keep her pressed against the desk. "I missed you too", she murmured. Then she grinned and stepped around him, pressing a Styrofoam cup full of coffee into his hand "Got work to do."

"Tease!" he quipped.

The smirk she sent him over her shoulder had him lunging for her. Letty trotted off to the car she had to work on laughing under her breath.

_It really was tradition. Every year on Valentine's Day since their first kiss –except for two – they had had shared a kiss on the holiday. The first year they were apart, they had avoided each other completely. And this past year when she had been with Trevor… well, she had been bitchy. Even if no one else knew why, she did. Letty really should have taken that for what it was, and realized that her relationship wasn't going to last._

This was the first of the few platonic kisses they had shared since they had broken up that held the promise that they were going to try to figure out what they were doing with their relationship.

00

Two weeks later:

Letty found Mia at the dining room table studying. "Are you staying in tonight?"

Mia raised an eyebrow. "Let me check my social calendar", she teased sarcastically. Then she eyed her friend's state of dress curiously. "Where are _you_ going? In those leather pants?"

"Out… for a bit?" she asked hopefully. "Aiden's asleep. Please? I'll owe you-"

"_Go_", Mia laughed. "When I graduate, you and I will have a girl's night. I know you need a night out. Don't worry about it. I'm making an outline to study for a test that isn't until next week. I was just going to read a book or something after I finish, and go to bed early."

"Lame", Letty grinned. "I have my cell. Call if you need me for anything."

"Get out of here", Mia flapped a hand at her.

"I love you!" she called with a laugh over her shoulder as she left.

0

Letty finished her beer and third shot, and then expertly wound her way through the crowd between the bar and the bottom level dance floor. It was probably a stupid idea to come here on a Saturday night because it was so crowded, but she could handle herself. The men in her life had ensured that.

This place was one of the higher class bars in L.A. that had decent music, and every once in a while, she just needed a few hours to let loose.

Her hips twisted as she felt the low beat of the music enter her bloodstream and she took her spot in the crowd. She found the two closest emergency exits for her own peace of mind, and then let the music take her.

0

Dom couldn't take the mind-numbing boredom he felt any longer. It was a Saturday night, for god's sake. After Letty had gotten pregnant, they had both adjusted their schedules accordingly, realizing that they couldn't take those same careless risks for the sake of an adrenaline rush. They had someone else to protect now. But every once in a while, he still got the occasional itch to go and _do_ something.

He tossed the magazine that he had been flipping through onto the coffee table and went upstairs to change clothes. After he had his keys and wallet, Dom went back downstairs and poked his head into the study where his father was paying bills.

"I'm going out for a bit", he said.

Tony nodded at his son distractedly. "Stay out of trouble."

Dom laughed under his breath. "I'm a little too old for trouble these days, Pops."

"I should hope so", his father muttered as he left.

0

That was how Dom found himself at this club downtown. At least this place didn't have those damn strobe lights or a fucking disco ball. He snorted and found the bar quickly. He was nursing his second beer when the lighting changed on the dance floor and lit up a small platform.

He raised an eyebrow at the pole he saw in the middle. The woman took the short flight of stairs quickly despite her heels. And he'd admit the first thing he noticed was her backside and then long legs encased in black leather pants.

Dom leaned back against the bar top behind him, settling in to watch the show.

Three seconds later, when the woman turned, he spat his mouthful of beer on the floor.

_It was Letty._

He had to check himself, in order to stifle the urge to go down there and bodily remove her from the tiny stage.

_Not his_. Two words that taunted him on a weekly – fuck that, _daily_ – basis, now were pounding in his skull. _He really missed the days when he was the only one who knew that she could __**move.**_

She had probably been drinking, but she swung herself around in a way that led him to believe this wasn't her first attempt.

He grinned evilly and finished his beer. Dom took the spiral staircase down to the dance floor. Even if he couldn't tap into his caveman tendencies, he could still play dirty enough to fuck with her.

She would probably read him the riot act tomorrow. _ But it would be worth it._

0

Dom got up right behind her and goosed her. He was ready for the fist that came at him, and caught her wrist easily. He just smirked down at her and laid a kiss on her knuckles despite the fury in her eyes.

"_Shit_", she cursed breathlessly, shaking her hand out of his grasp only to have him yank her against him by her hips. She fell in step with him instinctively, hips slotting together naturally as they danced. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Come here often?" he asked in favor of answering her.

She rolled her eyes irritably, "Only when I need to blow off some steam."

His hands at her waist tightened. "There are better ways to do that", he growled suggestively. "Can't say I didn't enjoy the floor show, though."

"Jealous?" Letty raised her eyebrows.

"How drunk are you?" Dom asked seriously.

She pressed up onto her toes and kissed the corner of his mouth lightly. "Not very", she murmured.

His hands slid down to her ass, palming it roughly as he nuzzled her neck. "Let's get out of here."

0

He almost literally put her in his car despite her protests. "We'll come get your car tomorrow", he growled. _He wasn't letting her get away from him tonight._

Dom nearly laughed after all of her attempts to keep her distance, that it only took his hand sliding up her thigh as he pulled out of the parking lot for her to be all over him.

She balanced on her knees on the seat next to him, mouth leaving a trail down his neck. "Pull over", she growled.

"Five minutes", he promised.

"Now", Letty argued roughly.

He caught her chin at a red light. "What? Before you change your mind?"

She shook her head. "No- I just want you, and I'm impatient."

He smirked. "We'll be in a room with a bed in ten minutes."

"Drive faster", she ordered against his mouth.

"Yes, ma'am."

0

Her shirt was off almost immediately after they entered the room, and she hissed as he pressed her against the door. Letty's fingers worked efficiently to unhook the buttons of his shirt as he sucked on her neck – never let it be said that she couldn't multi-task – and then groaned in irritation when she found the wife-beater underneath.

Dom chuckled into her hair as he fumbled with her leather pants. _Of course the button was on the __**inside**__ of the band._ "I hate these things", he muttered, finally getting them undone and yanking them down her thighs.

She gave a throaty laugh at his impatience. "Yeah, well they make my ass look amazing. I wasn't exactly planning on getting laid tonight, so I didn't worry about making them easy to get off."

He nipped her earlobe, hands wandering, familiarizing himself with her body after such a long absence. "Glad to hear it", he replied seriously as she stepped out of her pants and finished ridding him of his shirts.

Letty started pushing him towards the bed, and almost managed to get them there before Dom turned them around and picked her up, fingertips digging into her hips for a few brief seconds until he unexpectedly tossed her onto the bed, forcing a tiny shriek of surprise past her lips.

She landed and then leaned up on her elbows, smirking slightly as she watched him take his pants off.

"Enjoying the show?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"If I only had some singles to throw at you", she teased.

He crawled over top over her, both of them stripped down to their underwear, and he lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her roughly. "We still need to talk. And we will. Later. But it's been way too fucking long since I've had my hands on you", he growled.

She arched against him with a whimper as his hands stroked down her sides. "Got that right", she hissed.

"No more thinking?" Dominic challenged, tasting the skin between her breasts. She sighed, body arching demandingly, and he reached underneath her to unhook her bra before tossing it somewhere she'd have to hunt for later.

"Not tonight", she purred agreeably.

Their last articles of clothing were removed quickly, and he was pressing himself inside her as she locked her ankles behind his back. Their movements were rough with passion, but reverent as they pushed and pulled each other towards that metaphorical edge. Hands were everywhere, seemingly all at once: behind her knee, in her hair, her nails dug into his back, hands dragged down his chest, and gripped the back of his neck. His fingers playing distractedly at her nipples as they moved together earned him a bite to his bottom lip

It was wonderfully easy to get lost together. They still knew each other and it was apparent in every stroke and caress, and the way they couldn't take their focus off of each other.

Sex was the simple part. Love was hard.

They were going to have to fight for it.

00

**A/N: Sorry for the killer cliff-hanger! I make it up to you in the next chapter. Okay, so I've been planning this chapter for a long time. I've had most of it written for a while too – since at least five or six chapters ago. The idea for this bit came from the song "Lose Control" – by Keri Hilson ft. Nelly. It's on youtube. I saw the video, and this is what came from it. I know! It's about damn time!**

**The next chapter has most of the juicy stuff though! It will be up soon!**


	19. Chapter 19

**An End and a Beginning**

**Summary: They didn't work out the first time around, but they have something tangible between them that forces them to be in each other's lives forever. They are getting a second chance, but with Dominic and Letty, nothing comes easy.**

Rating: M - eventually

Chapter 19

"_The biggest coward is a man who awakens a woman's love with no intention of loving her." – Bob Marley_

0

"We shouldn't have done this", Letty shook her head, hands in the back pockets of her pants as she leaned against the doorjamb to the adjacent bathroom. Dominic was watching her from where he was sitting on the edge of the bed. The hotel room was larger than she had noticed last night in their mad scramble to get their clothes off and into bed.

"Don't say that. We should have done this a _long_ time ago. If I had any fucking idea that letting you walk out that door all those years back meant losing you, I swear I wouldn't have done it", he said seriously. "At the time, I just wanted you to be alright."

"_Dom_- c'mon. We've got a good thing going. I don't even know if we can _have_ this again", she motioned between them.

He snorted derisively. "A good thing?" he repeated incredulously. "We made the best of a shitty situation, but I wouldn't exactly say it's a good thing, Let."

She flinched. "I didn't mean it like that. Just… we've got a lot of shit between us. If it didn't work out-"

"What if it did?"

"I don't think I can handle losing you again."

"Letty, what if it _worked_?"

"We're a disaster, you know that right?" she raised an eyebrow, softening her rigid stance just slightly.

"We have a lot we need to talk about", he corrected calmly.

"I don't understand how you can even still be in love with me after everything that happened", she admitted quietly.

"You know I don't believe in that destiny crap", Dom said. "But you're it for me. I never stopped loving you, Let."

"Kind of a glutton for punishment, huh, Dom?" she murmured regretfully.

"Nope", he grinned. "I'm just smarter than you."

"Flattery to insults", she raised an eyebrow. "Interesting tactic…"

"You're gonna have to help me out here", Dom shrugged. "I don't know what you want. And if you don't know either- I can give you some time to figure it out, Let. But you need to get there. We've been in limbo for way too long as it is."

Her mouth twisted thoughtfully. "You know we can't just jump into this. We have a lot of shit to sift through, and Aiden to consider. Neither of us can act like the past didn't happen."

"I need you to decide if you think it's worth it for us, knowing going in, that fixing all the shit between us that's broken- it's going to hurt."

"Do you? Think it's worth it?" she asked quietly.

"Yes", he said seriously, nodding once. He stared at her for a moment. "Come here."

Her lips twitched. "I got dressed for a reason", she pointed out.

"Get over here", he laughed. "I've got pants on."

"Like that's ever stopped you before", she muttered skeptically.

"Okay, I'll give you that", he said, slightly amused. "Would you believe I just wanted to talk for a minute?"

She snorted. "No. If I remember correctly, that's how you got me in bed with you the first time."

He smiled like he had made his point. "We didn't have sex the first time you were in my bed – even if you were trying to jump me _the whole time_", Dominic teased.

"Oh, nuh-uh. You're so full of it!" she retorted incredulously even as she approached the bed slowly. "Your memory's going with your old age. I think you were the one trying to feel _me_ up. In fact wasn't I the one who had a nice hickey to hide the next morning?"

He smirked and grabbed her hips, pulling her onto the bed with him, turning on his side and putting her back to his chest. "That's just semantics, baby", he explained lazily. "You were the one rubbing all over me counting my muscles."

"I was drunk!" she grumbled defensively.

"I'm just sayin' that not pouncing on you took _phenomenal_ restraint on my part – which you should appreciate."

Letty twisted around slightly to look at him. "I did. I do. You treated me right, Dom. You always have", she admitted.

He leaned down to kiss her temple in an appreciative gesture, and let the silence rest between them for a few minutes before he spoke again. "Look, I know I didn't really make things easy on you when you came back from Miami. I wanted to help you, and you wouldn't let me. It was so frustrating, because before that, you and I had always been on the same wavelength."

She turned over to face him completely. "I had so much shit going on inside my head, Dom. It took _weeks_ to stop feeling disconnected from everything around me even after I came back. And then I felt guilty. When we got back to L.A., I was so intent on proving I could do it all on my own. Every time you tried to help, it just made me angry. In my head… I felt like you thought I was a bad mom."

He sighed against her neck, raking a hand through her hair. "You know that's not true, right?" he murmured seriously. "I didn't want you to feel like you were doing it by yourself. It wasn't because I didn't think you could."

"I figured that out once I was in my right mind again", she said ruefully.

"What, when Aiden finally figured out what the word 'no' meant?" Dom chuckled.

"Yeah, what was he, like four?" she chuckled. "I thought for sure we were gonna have all of our stubbornness combined into one kid. I was ready to tear my hair out."

"Lucky things evened out and he got some of Mia's personality too, huh?"

"No shit." Letty groaned and reached for her phone on the night table to check the time. She groaned again. "I have to go", she said reluctantly.

"Go where?"

She chuckled. "I have to go take _our son_ to school."

Dom made a grumbling noise of complaint and grabbed for her when she tried to sit up. His hand on her hip pulled her backwards against him, and he grabbed her phone, dodging her attempts to grab it back. He fired off a text and then dropped it lightly on her stomach with a grin. "Mia will take Aiden to school."

"What did you do?" she accused grabbing her cell and thumbing into her text messages. And found the last one that had been sent to Mia. Her eyes widened in horror. "'_About to have some hot morning sex. Please take Aiden to school_'", Letty read incredulously. "Dom!" she complained. "You asshole! Mia's gonna freak!"

He laughed at the irritated look on her face.

Her phone buzzed and she looked at the text Mia had sent back. _You tramp! With who?_

Letty rubbed her forehead. "You Torettos", she sighed and slung a leg over his hip. "I give up. Better be some damn good sex", she teased. "I mean, I already got dressed and shit."

He snorted, and yanked open her pants, "Details, sweetheart. And sex between us has always been better than good", he growled.

"Wait- what about work?"

"I think we deserve a day off, don't you? We'll go in for the afternoon."

Once he finished undressing her, he let her get rid of his pants before deciding on a different route this time.

"Damn", she teased, rolling her neck carefully. "If I had known we were going to have an all-night sex-a-thon, I would have taken time to stretch or something."

Dom snorted with amusement and rolled her over, "Smartass."

He had her back against his chest and shoved her hair out of the way, mouth travelling her neck and across her shoulders. Her thighs tightened at the emotions that were surfacing within her. She had was using his left arm for a pillow, but he pulled her closer, both hands finding her breasts, fingers playing gently at her nipples.

"_Dom._" She said his name as a warning. Her voice was low and thick, coming from a place deep inside that was wound so tight for him that it almost hurt.

He slipped a leg between hers; turning them until she was face down on the pillow, mouth leaving a trail of kisses across her shoulders and down her spine.

"Your ass", he growled, squeezing her backside for emphasis, "Could stop a Mack truck."

"Sweet talker", Letty laughed, looking over her shoulder at him.

Dom pulled her up enough so that he could slide into her easily, and she tucked her elbows under her chest to brace herself. He forced a slow pace which nearly killed her. His hands were gentle, stroking over her skin, tangling in her hair. His touch steadied something inside her, erasing the doubt that had been plaguing her mind. _She realized that he had been loving her longer than she had believed throughout the past years – despite the anger._

Tears burned her eyes and she tried to bury her face in the pillow.

He stopped, pulling back and forcing her to roll over underneath him so that he could see her face even as she tried to stop tears from falling down her face.

"Let?"

"I'm sorry", she managed hoarsely, rubbing at her face. "I gave up on us and took the easy way out. If I could go back and do it differently I would. You have no idea how much it kills me that I can't. I wanted to take it back- about a year later... But I knew you were still angry at me, and I couldn't bring myself to even try. I didn't think you'd ever forgive me. I hated myself for acting like such a coward."

"I really wish you would have just come talked to me", he sighed. "I honestly don't know what I would have done. I resented how you handled our relationship. But maybe we would have been able to fight it out. I probably would have at least listened. You shut me out hard, Letty. I used to be able to read you so easily. And then more than a few years went by where I had no idea what the hell you were thinking."

"I feel like you've been mad at me for over five years, Dom. When exactly was I supposed to decide to just ignore it and start sharing my life with you again?"

"You're right; I know. We've just wasted a lot of time because we're both stubborn."

0

They stayed in bed most of the morning, napping and fucking… mostly just enjoying being able to touch each other without reservation. They ordered room service for lunch, straightening the blankets on the king-sized bed, giving into picnic tendencies instead of using the small table across the room.

Letty's phone chimed. _It was Mia again._ She read the text and laughed.

_Assuming you haven't gotten held for ransom by your ONS, let me inform you that I have classes this afternoon, and haven't been able to get Dom on the phone. Will you please remember to get your son from school! I told him you went into work early this morning, and he wasn't thrilled. & I want details later._

"Mia's pissy today", she chuckled.

Dom took her phone and read the text. "She's been trying to call me?" he handed it back to Letty and got up to find his phone near the television. "It's off", he muttered.

"Is the battery dead?" she wondered as she texted Mia back.

"Actually, I'd bet you were the one that turned it off during all of that ass grabbing you were doing last night", he teased.

She snorted, "Hah-hah. See what happens when you take too long to get your pants off?" Letty got up from the bed and went looking for the rest of her clothes for the second time that day. "Mia's right though. I need you to take me to get my car so I can go home and change before I have to drive to the school. Those teachers hate me enough as it is; I can't show up there in leather pants with sex hair. And you need to get to the garage before Tony gets pissed."

"It's twelve-thirty. Neither of us had a full day scheduled today", he said mildly.

"I know", she groaned. "But I wanted to go in this morning and have the evening free. This is all your fault for seducing me", she giggled.

"You can't even say that with a straight face", Dom grinned as they both finished getting dressed. "I barely had to try."

"Yeah, yeah. Although, to be fair, I think you've been seducing me for the past year", she accused mildly.

"You could shower here before we leave-"

"Oh, no", Letty held up her hands in protest. "You get in the shower with me and we'll never get out of here. And as much as I'd like that, we have to get back to our life."

"What's that going to be exactly?" he asked seriously. "Are we going to pretend this didn't happen?

"I don't want to", she said quietly, shaking her head. "But I don't really want to jump right back into this and get everyone else involved when we're not sure what we're doing. Are you going to be mad if I say that I want to keep this between us for a little while?"

He pulled her into a hug, and she absorbed the feelings of safety and warmth, and _home_.

"We have a lot to discuss", he murmured into her hair. "Including the future… I'm not exactly looking to have a family vote right now either. It's okay if we wait a while."

"Thank you. Oh, and fair warning, I'm totally going to make up something juicy to tell Mia about what happened last night. Because we both know she's going to ask", Letty grinned up at him.

Dom rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, don't go too overboard about the imaginary sex god you were with all night."

She pulled away with a laugh. "Come on. Check-out is at one. Let's get out of here."

0

They got into his car and rolled the windows down. Letty immediately began pawing through his center console for CDs. She spotted one that looked familiar, and opened it with a frown as they got on the highway to head back to where she had left her car at the bar the night before.

_Guns N' Roses: Appetite for Destruction_

She waved the case playfully, raising a suspicious eyebrow as she slid the disc into the CD slot. "Didn't I have this at one point?"

Dominic glanced over and smirked. "I wore yours out. That one's newer."

"Uch", she hissed, scrunching her face in annoyance. "I thought I lost it when I moved."

"I found it under my bed sometime after Aiden turned one."

"Didn't you think that maybe you could have given it back? I had to buy another copy from iTunes."

He smiled gently and tugged on her hair that was blowing from the wind. "I was mad at you, remember? And then _I_ remembered that I actually liked that CD. So you weren't getting it back either way."

"Unbelievable", she shook her head, mildly amused, and relaxed further into the seat.

0

The bar parking lot was empty. It was too early in the day for it to be open. Dominic pulled into a space near her car. They eyed each other ruefully, and Letty laughed.

"Feels like the end of a date or something", she teased.

"I don't know that last night qualifies as a date", he said skeptically.

"Back to the real world?"

"More or less."

Letty pushed her car door open and got out, snagging her tiny clutch purse from the floor. She unlocked her car and turned around to find Dom behind her. He trapped her against the door and attacked her mouth before she could get a word out.

It took them a few minutes before they had to pull back to get real air.

"I'll see you at the garage later", he murmured.

"You're gonna have to keep this groping thing on the down low", Letty smirked as his hands fondled her backside. "For a little while, at least."

He frowned. "Did I agree to that?"

"You did", she nodded, amused by his tone.

"Yeah, we'll see how long that lasts", he said dryly, reaching around her to open her door.

She fisted her hand in his shirt, pulling him down for another kiss. "I gotta go. I'll probably have to kiss Mia's ass tonight, so I'm gonna stop at the store and find something to make for dinner."

"You cooking…" he shook his head as she slid into the driver's seat. "That's still gonna take some getting used to."

"I'll see you in a few hours."

00

**A/N: Eek! Well, I'm quite satisfied with this chapter! Let me know what you think.**


	20. Chapter 20

**An End and a Beginning**

**Summary: They didn't work out the first time around, but they have something tangible between them that forces them to be in each other's lives forever. They are getting a second chance, but with Dominic and Letty, nothing comes easy.**

Rating: M!

Chapter 20

_Letty was dead asleep when her cell phone rang, lighting up and vibrating obnoxiously against the night table. She fumbled for it tiredly, saw Dom's name on the screen and shot up worriedly as she answered it._

"_What's wrong?" she demanded, sans greeting._

"_You know we've been worried about that stomach thing going around Aiden's school. He's got it", Dom said tiredly. "He's got a fever and throwing up. He wants you."_

"_Shit", she hissed, already shoving the covers off her and then flipping her closet light on and throwing some things quickly into a bag. "I'll be over in twenty. Did you call the doctor?"_

"_I did. Got the usual spiel, watch the fever, keep him hydrated."_

"_Okay", she sighed, slowing down for a brief second and raking a hand through her hair. "I'm going to stop at the twenty-four hour store. Text me a list."_

"_See you in a bit. Let yourself in."_

_She yanked on a pair of jean shorts and a tank top, shoving her phone into her pocket. She would have gone over in her pajamas if she didn't have to stop at the store first._

"_Letty?" Trevor questioned sleepily. "What's wrong?"_

"_Sorry, go back to sleep", she muttered distractedly. "I have to go. Aiden's sick."_

"_You want me to come with you?"_

"_No. It's alright. Besides, you have a meeting in the morning", she waved him off, but leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I'll talk to you later."_

_He caught her hand before he pulled away. "Call if you need anything, alright?"_

"_Thanks", she was already grabbing her tote bag and purse. She appreciated the offer, but was more than anxious to get to her son._

_0_

_It took her thirty minutes flat to stop at the store and drive across town and arrive at the Torettos. It was after two in the morning. Letty found the handle unlocked and the kitchen light on. Tony was walking back into the kitchen as she closed and locked the door behind her._

_He offered her a hug after she set her bags down, "Hey, sweetheart. I made you some coffee. Gonna be a late night, I think."_

_She sighed and went to pour two cups. "Thanks, Tony. You can go back to bed. Dom and I can handle it."_

"_I'm sure you can. You and my son always manage to pull it together somehow", he smiled wryly._

"_I'd better get up there. Thanks for holding down the fort."_

"_I do what I can", he chuckled. "Night, Letty."_

_Letty grabbed both coffee cups and went upstairs. She saw Aiden's bedroom light on through the half-opened door and headed in that direction, "Dom?"_

"_In here."_

_She pushed the door open and slid into the room silently to find Dominic crouched by the bed. Their son looking pale and listless wrapped around his stuffed frog._

"_Oh, baby", she murmured softly. She set her mug on the dresser and handed the other to Dom as she sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand through Aiden's hair._

"_Mama?"_

_She leaned down to kiss his forehead. "Don't feel good, huh?"_

"_I threw up."_

"_Three times", Dom added._

_She made a face. __**That explained the scratchy voice. **__"Yuck. What do you think? Can I get in there and cuddle with you?" Letty asked, tilting her head._

_The boy just nodded and it made her heart ache a little. She climbed over him carefully, leaned against the headboard and let him curl himself around her, head against her chest._

_Dom stood up, making a gesture towards the vomit pail sitting on the end of the bed that had been washed out several times already. "I'm gonna go grab you a pillow", he said quietly._

_He disappeared only briefly, and came back with a pile of blankets and pillows, dropping them on a blow up mattress that was pushed against the wall. She hadn't noticed it when she had come in, or the fact that the floor was clear. She reached for the pillow he handed her and shoved it behind her back gratefully. __**Apparently they were going to be doing some indoor camping tonight.**_

"_Dig in those bags, would you?" Letty asked, pointing to the pile she had left by the door. "I bought some Pedialyte at the store. He's got to at least try to drink something."_

_Dominic was still hunting through her things when she felt the lurch. Letty sat them both upright as gently and frantically as possible, grabbing the pail just in time. She wasn't sure what the hell she was saying, but her voice was low, and calmer than she felt, as she rubbed the back of Aiden's neck._

_Minutes later, she was handed a wet rag, and wiped off her son's face. Dom went to empty the pail again. When Aiden was sick he almost always only wanted Mommy, and Dominic got relegated to 'gopher guy', and 'Master of the Puke Bucket'._

_He couldn't complain. He would prefer cuddling with Letty if he was sick too. When he came back, Letty nodded towards the shelves in the corner. "Grab a book. Maybe he'll get some sleep if we read to him."_

_Dom passed her a bottle of Pedialyte to work with and went to pick a book. He searched for a few minutes and grabbed a few before holding another up teasingly, __**The Little Engine That Could.**_

_Letty rolled her eyes. "Only you and Vince could ruin a children's book so horrendously."_

"_You laughed."_

"_You didn't get the call from his teacher", she muttered wryly. __**After reading Aiden the book, Dominic and Vince decided to retell it in a version they called 'The Little Engine That Just Needed a Little NOS to Get Up the Damn Hill'. Ms. Bertram, his kindergarten teacher, had not been amused with their son's retelling.**_

_Dom chuckled and put it back on the shelf. "__**Three Musketeers**__ it is."_

"_The kid's version", Letty said exasperatedly. "Aiden's too young to hear the stories about all the trouble you and Vince got into with Hector."_

_He smirked. "I'm just gonna read the book. Chill out, mami."_

_She huffed, but pulled her legs up to give him room at the end of the bed and helped Aiden take a few sips from the plastic bottle. "Okay for now? Daddy's gonna read us a story." He nodded and she tucked his favorite blanket around him a bit tighter._

_0_

_Neither of them could bear to leave their son alone while he was so ill, so they took turns leaving the room when they had to. An unexpected vomiting incident had Letty shooing Dominic off to the shower while she took care of the rest of the mess._

_Twenty minutes later, after he'd taken his shower and gone to make another pot of coffee, Dom found himself leaning silently in the doorway of his son's bedroom. The low tones of the familiar Spanish lullaby barely carried into the hallway, but it brought him to a stop before entering the room._

_He knew it was the song Letty's father had sung to her when she was a young girl. And she had started muttering it under her breath when Aiden was a baby – mostly during the teething stages when nothing else would make him happy._

_Letty ran her hand over the top of their son's head as he leaned against her side sleepily. Dom waited another five minutes to make sure Aiden was asleep before he went into the room._

"_Did you check his temperature again?" he asked quietly._

"_One-oh-one point five", she sighed, maneuvering herself out of the bed carefully before fixing the blankets. "It's gone down a bit."_

"_Good."_

_Her hands raked over her face roughly. "I hate this", she whispered. "He's never been this sick before."_

"_Kid germs from school", Dominic said tiredly. "We can't do anything about it. Colds going around… He's gonna be okay. It just sucks."_

"_Yeah…"_

_He eyed her sharply. "Let, don't get all weepy on me now."_

"_I'm not- I just need a minute", she muttered, brushing past him in her haste to get out of the room. Dom followed like she knew he would, and she leaned against the wall near the door, letting it take her weight as he stood in front of her. "I hate not being able to do anything to make him feel better. I didn't know that having to wait it out like this was actually going to hurt."_

"_Hey", he nudged her foot with his own. "He's yours and he's mine. You know that kid's made of some tough stuff. We'll keep an eye on the fever tonight. If you want to take him to the doctor in the morning, we'll go. Okay?"_

"_Okay."_

_0_

_It was late that afternoon when they finally got Aiden's flu bug under control, and he was sleeping peacefully. Letty was leaning against the dresser like she wanted to just melt onto the floor. She was over-caffeinated and had the shakes from lack of sleep, fingers clenching into involuntary fists at random._

"_Hey, go to bed before you crash", Dom said quietly. "I'll sleep in here for bit. If he wakes up, I'll come get you."_

_She raised an eyebrow, not comprehending much beyond the word bed. "What?"_

"_My room", he clarified. "Go sleep."_

"_Dom-"_

"_Stop trying to think so hard. You're too tired and going to short-circuit your brain", he rolled his eyes._

"_Charming", she muttered wryly._

_He grinned at her. She was still blinking at him rather stupidly. "Go on", he ordered, nudging her out the door. The woman didn't function well without sleep._

_She stopped just briefly before entering his room. "Thank you."_

00

Letty made arrangements for Aiden to spend Saturday night at her mother's house, something that happened on occasion. If Susana was suspicious, she said nothing.

She met Dominic at the pier, cars parked with a view of the ocean. They sat on the hood of his car eating take-out from the Italian restaurant.

"So… date night?" Letty asked with a bit of amusement.

He grinned at her. "We should probably pick that up again, don't you think?"

"How long do you think we're going to get away with this?"

"In this family? Not very long", Dom chuckled. "My nearly putting you over any of the cars you've been working on all week is completely beside the point."

She bit her lip to contain a smile. "You've been preoccupied?"

"That's not new", he said wryly.

"Oh, I know", she teased. "I've felt your eyes trying to burn holes in the back of my pants."

He smirked at her.

She winked at him and slid off the car. "Let's get out of here."

0

They fell back on his bed panting roughly.

"What the hell was that?" Dom asked breathlessly.

"What?" Letty panted with a knowing grin.

"The leg thing- I mean, you've always been super flexible, but damn."

"Oh, I've been taking yoga… for a while now", she said easily. "Didn't you know?"

Dominic blinked. "Yoga? You've been taking yoga", he repeated dumbly, leaning up on his elbow.

She giggled. "Yes."

"To kill me… you're going to kill me with yoga", he shook his head and dropped back on the bed with a groan. "Shit."

She snickered. "Did I actually wear you out?"

"No, I'm good", he insisted tiredly.

"Looks like it", she said sarcastically, pushing herself off the bed, ignoring the way her thigh muscles burned.

"Where are you going?" he yawned.

Letty pulled her underwear back on, and then tugged one of his tank tops over her head. "Downstairs, to get a water", she answered finally. "You want one?"

"Mm", he muttered agreeably into his pillow.

She bit her lip, trying not to laugh. _And Dom called her a bad sleeper? Aiden did not get his sleep habits from her. She was the night owl, not the morning person._ "I'll be back in a minute."

Letty made way through the house that was as familiar as her own silently, despite the darkness. She grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and slipped back upstairs and into the bedroom. She swallowed a few mouthfuls of water and set both bottles on the night table before crawling under the covers carefully.

Dom was lying on his back dozing lightly, one arm over his head on the pillow. Letty curled around him, head resting on his shoulder, arm sliding across his chest. She let out a sigh of contentment. "I love you", she murmured.

He smiled above her head. "What was that?" he teased, moving to run a hand through her hair.

She looked up and rolled her eyes. "I thought you were asleep", she accused, but stretched up to kiss his mouth.

His grin widened. "I've missed hearing you say that."

"I love you", she said again, then had a hard time controlling her laughter when he flipped her underneath him to kiss her breathless and they finally had to stop. She yawned, stretching languidly. "Okay, I'm beat. We should get some sleep."

They shifted around into a more comfortable position. Dominic nuzzled the side of her neck from behind her. "Love you too."

0

Early the next morning, Letty prepared to leave the house before Dominic's father woke up to get ready for work.

She went quietly down the carpeted stairs, and nearly got to the front door before she heard a throat clearing behind her. Letty turned to find Tony standing in the opening between the family room and kitchen.

"_Shit_", she hissed under her breath.

"Leticia, what an awkward surprise", Tony said wryly, mouth twitching.

Letty didn't think she had blushed so hard since she was seventeen. "I have the worst urge to beg you not to call my mother", she grumbled, hands covering her face.

He chuckled. "You two are adults, aren't you?"

"Like that means anything", Letty grinned.

"How the two of you handle your relationship is no one's business unless it will negatively affect everyone else. Your mother and I think we raised you kids well enough to make good decisions for yourselves."

"Well, I have to admit, Dom and I learned co-parenting from the best", she said quietly. Then Letty shook her head. "Since sneaking out is pointless, I think I'll just go back upstairs." She made a hasty exit, and shut herself in the bedroom, leaning against the door with a groan.

Dom turned to look at her, "Let? Weren't you leaving?"

She flopped back on the bed burying her face in his neck. "Just kill me", she whined.

He laughed. "What's wrong?"

"Your dad is in the kitchen", she muttered. "We talked. It was ten different kinds of embarrassing."

"I'm sorry?" he chuckled.

"You suck", she complained.

"Poor baby", he cooed, rubbing her neck. "Relax, get another couple hours of sleep, and then I'll make us breakfast."

She nuzzled his chest, "Sounds good."

00

**A/N: Here ya go! Yay! This was sweet to write.**


	21. Chapter 21

**An End and a Beginning**

**Summary: They didn't work out the first time around, but they have something tangible between them that forces them to be in each other's lives forever. They are getting a second chance, but with Dominic and Letty, nothing comes easy.**

Rating: M

Chapter 21

Letty and Mia were having a much needed girls' night in. Letty wasn't quite sure how they ended up watching _Mama Mia_, but she had been plied with Ben & Jerry's, so it was more or less tolerable. Her best friend was so girly sometimes. But they had grown on each other growing up, and as adults, they had weathered the worst phases of their lives together.

They sat on the couch, only half watching the movie, in favor of catching up with the daily news.

"So… you've been busy lately", Letty observed mildly, sipping on her rum and coke.

"So have you", Mia arched an eyebrow.

Letty made a noncommittal humming noise. "Don't change the subject."

"I'm not", Mia defended. "I'm just expanding it."

"Nice try, Mi", Letty shook her head. "Now, tell me who you took the train to sexy town with."

Mia went bright red. "_Letty_", she sputtered, scandalized at her friend's cavalier tone. "I don't even know how to answer that. '_Sexy town_'? Really?"

Letty smirked. "I get better answers when I catch you off guard", she admitted.

"That's evil", Mia grumbled.

"You know I'm sure Dominic would be interested that you've been hiding a boy-toy-" she taunted, reaching for her cell phone.

Mia yelped and lunged for her. They grappled for Letty's phone, giggling like they used to when they had sleepovers and pillow fights. Mia finally got the phone by exploiting her friend's one ticklish spot, nearly making Letty fall off the couch, and promptly stuffed the phone into her bra.

Letty raised an eyebrow. "Don't think I won't go after that."

"You would, wouldn't you", Mia shook her head wryly, laughing as Letty waggled her eyebrows.

"Come on, Mia, dish", she prodded. "It's been _ages_ since we've talked boys."

"Don't tell my brother", Mia said seriously. "I actually like this guy."

Letty's mouth twisted into a secret smile. "As long as this guy treats you right, I'll happily beat some sense into your over-protective brother if I need to", she smirked.

"Uh, Let-" she started hesitantly.

Letty's eyes widened. "What did you do?"

"What do you mean what did I do?"

"I know that look Mia", Letty said dryly. "You had the same look on your face when you drove Dom's car without asking when you were fifteen – _without a license_ – and scratched it. V and I _both_ had to tackle him when he went to chase after you. So? Is this worse or what?"

Mia chewed on her bottom lip. "This guy I've been seeing… he's a cop", she mumbled finally.

Letty froze in momentary shock, and then snickered. "Shit, girl, we might need a tranq gun."

"Dom's gonna lose it, isn't he", Mia groaned.

She shrugged, "Maybe. But he loves you, and wants you to be happy. He'll get over the idea."

"You sure about that?"

Letty grinned, "Yep."

"You've been… strangely _giddy_ lately", Mia observed suspiciously. "That's not like you."

"I'm watching a movie", Letty gestured to the screen pointedly.

"_Letty_, I will pry it out of you eventually", Mia threatened.

Letty threw a handful of popcorn at her. "Whatever you say, cutie", she teased. "Invite your guy over for dinner next weekend. I wanna meet him."

Mia buried her face in her hands. "Whoever you're seeing must be amazing in bed."

She just smirked.

0

Later that night after Mia had gone to her room for the night, Letty laid across the middle of her bed, feet propped on the edge. She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed the familiar number.

He answered almost immediately, "Hey, sweetheart."

Letty grinned, glad he couldn't see her face at the moment, and know she was having a girly moment. "How's my baby?" she asked finally.

"Oh, I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

She laughed under her breath. "I _meant _Aiden."

Dominic chuckled. "He's asleep."

"How the freaking _hell_ do we have a kid?" she asked incredulously. "It still blows my mind."

"If I remember correctly, we got into a fight over some girl flirting with me at the mall", he mused.

"While I was standing _right there_", Letty grumbled. "Stupid slut."

He snorted, amused at her jealousy, "Yeah, yeah. I remember you giving me the silent treatment for the rest of the weekend, and then when I started ignoring you _back_, you got pissed."

"Well, I don't like being ignored", she grinned.

"So you _jumped me?_" he asked incredulously.

"I also wanted to get laid", she said diplomatically. "No reason my lady parts should suffer just because I was mad at you."

"Yeah, there was that too", Dom laughed. Then he turned serious. "You know… I really don't like being away from you."

She sighed. "I'm not exactly thrilled about it either. But either we do this, or we tell everyone, and we have to tell Aiden. We can't just do this the way we used to and fuck each other's brains out until we get caught."

"Letty, the best thing for our son is to have two parents who love each other", he said seriously.

"I know that. Do _you_ know how to do this?" she asked with an undertone of frustration, "Because I sure as hell don't."

"No, I don't. But we need to decide how we're going to move forward."

"Can we just decide what we're doing tomorrow?" she asked wearily.

He chuckled. "Tomorrow, you're gonna drag your ass out of bed and come over here for breakfast."

"Am I?"

"Coffee and pancakes, baby. You can't say no to that."

"No, I guess I can't. Besides, a family breakfast sounds really good", she said softly.

"So… how was girls' night in?"

Letty smirked, "Interesting."

"Plan to share?"

"Hmm, nope." _Mia would kill her._

"_Letty_", he complained.

She laughed.

0

"Mom!"

"Oof", Letty huffed out a laugh as she got her son's head in her stomach as she let herself into the Toretto house the next morning. "Hey, buddy. Nice bed-head", she attempted to smooth down the messy bits, and stopped herself just short of giving her son a spit bath, deciding to ruffle it and make it worse instead.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, ducking under her hands.

She grinned. "I heard your dad was making pancakes, so I thought I'd come have breakfast."

"Dad makes good pancakes, huh?"

Letty nodded, and spun Aiden around to propel him into the kitchen in front of her. "Yeah, he does. And I bet he was really nice and even made me some coffee."

Dominic was at the stove when they entered the kitchen.

"Daddy, Mom's here and she wants coffee!"

Letty sputtered an unexpected laugh. "Kid, I didn't say it like that!" she poked her son's sides, making him laugh.

"I've got your coffee, Let", Dom said with amusement. "I know better than to get between you and caffeine in the mornings."

"My longest relationship", she drawled, stepping around Aiden to head towards the stove. She tugged Dom's tank top playfully as she passed behind him to the coffee maker. "Man, you coulda told me it was pajama day."

"_Your son_ woke me up bed at five-thirty this morning", he said under his breath.

She frowned. "Why? That's early even for him."

"I don't know. I think he had a nightmare, but he doesn't remember."

Letty glanced back towards the living room where Aiden was back to watching cartoons. "I'll see if I can get anything out of him later. Did you get any coffee yet?" and then she grabbed another cup from the cupboard when he shook his head. She shoved a filled mug in his hand. "Sit down and drink your medicine", she teased. "I can flip a few pancakes as long as you don't grab my ass", she murmured under her breath.

"Aw, where's the fun in that?" he joked. Dom handed her the spatula and slipped behind her, hands grabbing the counter on either side of her preventing an escape she had no intention of taking.

Her head tilted as he brushed her hair out of the way and kissed the side of her neck. A quick glance told her the sizzling bacon and the last batch of pancakes was good to go for a few minutes. She tilted her head back to catch his mouth briefly. "Hi", she murmured softly.

He slid one arm around her waist, squeezing gently. "Hi back."

She chuckled and unwrapped his arm from her stomach and handed him the tongs. "If you're gonna stand here, get the bacon off before it burns."

"I thought I smelled breakfast."

Letty flipped her last pancake and turned around. "Hey, Tony."

"You're not burning down my kitchen, I hope."

"You know, this whole 'Letty can't cook thing is getting old'", she observed mildly.

He grinned. "Sorry, sweetheart."

"Yeah, yeah", she teased. Letty nudged Dom with her elbow. "Go get our kid. Breakfast is ready."

00

St. Patrick's Day was on a Thursday this year, but they didn't really celebrate it as a holiday. But they did gather at the Torettos for dinner after work was done.

Dominic had taken Aiden back to the house with him and Letty had run home to shower and change clothes.

She found Dom sitting in the recliner watching TV with Vince when she stepped into the living room almost an hour later. Leon and Jesse had somehow gotten sweet-talked to help Mia, Tony, and her mother in the kitchen. She heard her son's giggles coming from the kitchen.

Letty raised an eyebrow at the tall green and white striped hat Dominic was wearing that had a four-leaf clover sticking out from the top. "Lose a bet?" she teased.

He raised an eyebrow, eyeing her steadily. _He was waiting for her to make the first move. And she __**really**__ owed him one – or five._

She shrugged, and glided across the room to curl up in his lap, tucking her feet up against the arm of the recliner.

"_What the fu-_ _**heck**__?!_" Vince sputtered, nearly choking on his beer.

Letty snorted in amusement. _She always appreciated when Vince attempted to censor himself when Aiden was in hearing range. But right now, she was even more appreciative of the particular shade of purple his face was turning._ "What's your problem?" she asked lazily. She could feel the vibrations of Dom's silent laughter.

"You just- he- _what the hell is with the snuggling?!_" Vince shouted.

"When two people like each other very much-" Letty started in a patronizing tone until Dom's hand covered her mouth.

"We're working shit out", Dominic answered evenly.

Vince blinked. "Huh", he muttered.

Letty giggled at the stupid look on his face and shoved Dom's hand off her mouth.

"What's going on?" Mia walked into the living room from the kitchen. "I could hear Vince freaking… out", she trailed off when she spotted Letty on her brother's lap. _Suddenly that was more important than the eggplant purple Vince's face was turning._ "You two! Are you-?"

Letty rolled her eyes. _Maybe if she downplayed it slightly, her friend wouldn't erupt like a volcano._ "God, Mia, who did you think I've been with? That morning I texted you last month- that was Dom."

Her jaw dropped. "You two are evil! And sneaky", she accused. "I can't believe you didn't say anything!"

"We had some things to talk about first", Letty said softly. "Don't be mad."

"_Mad_- I'm not mad", she shook her head. "It's about damn freaking time", she grumbled. "So", Mia continued casually, "The morning you texted me, that was two weeks after Valentine's Day… wasn't it?"

Dominic eyed her shrewdly. "Who won the betting pool?" he asked finally.

"_What_- no, okay", she admitted, rolling her eyes. Mia went back to stick her head in the kitchen. "Dad, we all owe you fifty bucks", she called.

Letty's jaw dropped.

Dom groaned. "And here I was gearing up to give out some ass kickings", he muttered.

Tony appeared in the doorway and eyed the couple with wry amusement. "Out in the open now?" he teased. "Letty, does that mean you're done tiptoeing around my kitchen in the mornings?"

She chuckled, mildly embarrassed. "Hey, I stopped tiptoeing after you caught me the first time, and started turning on your coffee pot."

"I'm a little uncomfortable with the fact that you were betting on our sex life", Dom grumbled.

"You two always did have your own thing about Valentine's Day", he mused. "I'll just take the money you guys owe me out of your pay checks."

"Ohh, shit", Letty laughed.

"Dad! You've known about them for nearly a month?" Mia accused. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Tony gave his daughter a shrewd look. "The same reason I haven't mentioned to your brother that you've been seeing someone behind our backs."

Mia's mouth opened and closed in a fish-like manner, "But I- _how?_"

"You're my daughter", he chuckled. "And you've got the same starry-eyed look your mother had when we began dating. Bring him around", Tony said with a tone the offered no room for argument. "If it's that serious already he should meet the family."

She sighed, knowing there was no getting out of this one, "Alright."

"Mia?"

She turned warily at her brother's questioning tone. "What?"

"This kid at least has a job, right?"

Mia rolled her eyes, "Of course."

"Hey!" Letty interrupted before things got out of hand. "Do us all a favor and keep your mouths shut until we figure out how to talk to our kid."

Mia frowned. "You haven't-"

"And say what exactly?" Letty shot back irritably, answering the oncoming question before it was asked.

"Okay", she murmured, turning back into the kitchen. "You guys always have drama."

"I love you. You know that right?" Dom murmured in her ear.

"You know, my dad always told me not to let a man make me fall in love with him if he wasn't going to love me back. I think I always knew, Dom", she answered quietly.

His fingers raked through her hair as she leaned her head back against his shoulder. "Then we'll figure it out." He chuckled. "I still find it funny that Luis is a Bob Marley fan."

She grinned.

"So?" he asked quietly. "The family knows. What now?"

She shifted slightly to look at him. "We have to talk to our kid, and let him know things are changing. And we need to make some decisions about the future."

"Are _you_ gonna be okay with some changes?"

"I like to think that I can at least learn from my mistakes. You need to know that the way I shut you out, that hurt me too. And I don't want to do that again – to either of us. I was just trying to protect myself, and it was the only way I knew how to do that."

"Let-"

"You've always known exactly how to shove my bullshit back in my face, Dom. And I had shit I didn't want to deal with. I wasn't ready. So much of what happened was about me letting my fears make decisions for me. And then I thought I would have to live with the consequences of my actions… I'm done avoiding living my life."

"You sure?" he raised an eyebrow.

"We move forward, and we make decisions together. I'm ready to fight for the life we want. I know you're still uncertain about my commitment issues, and we'll have to deal with that. What we had was damaged because I walked away to try and put myself first the way I needed to, but then I was too chicken to work things out. I'm in this. I won't walk away again. You need to know that."

00

**A/N: Omg, finally! Sorry, this one took forever and it was giving me major grief. But I was writing ahead, and you'll love what I have planned for them. Thanks for reading! Leave me a review!**


	22. Chapter 22

**An End and a Beginning**

**Summary: They didn't work out the first time around, but they have something tangible between them that forces them to be in each other's lives forever. They are getting a second chance, but with Dominic and Letty, nothing comes easy.**

Rating: M - eventually

Chapter 22

_Letty rushed back to the apartment, cursing because she was half an hour late, and Mia was definitely going to kill her because this had been her idea in the first place. But she had stopped at the good bakery, so Letty had a feeling Mia would forgive her._

"_I'm sorry, I'm sorry", Letty grumbled, kicking her shoes into the closet and setting the handled paper bag against the wall._

_"Letty, you're late!" Mia sang pleasantly from the kitchen._

_"Blame Dominic!" she called back. __**Apparently, Mia's friend was already here, otherwise she would have yelled.**__ "And our twenty minute quickie", she added under her breath with a grin before raising her voice as she headed down the hall to change her shirt. The missing bottom button from her blouse was obvious enough to raise more than a few suspicions – at least from Mia. "Give me five minutes!"_

_Letty changed into a tangerine colored tank top and checked her jeans before running a brush through her hair. A quick glance in the mirror told her she had no love bites to hide, and she left her bedroom, grabbing the pink bag and setting it on the counter._

"_Why is it my brother's fault you're late?" Mia raised an eyebrow when Letty entered the kitchen._

"_Well, Dom's suspicious, and tried grilling me about what we were doing tonight", she rolled her eyes, and then gestured to the blonde man standing in her kitchen leaning casually against the counter. "Do i get an introduction or are we playing a rousing game of charades for me to guess his name? And __**don't**__ say charades", she sighed._

_Mia grinned. "Letty, this is Brian O'Conner. Brian, this is Letty Ortiz – the woman who would be my sister-in-law if she and my brother could get their shit together."_

"_Funny, Mia", Letty rolled her eyes._

"_I only speak the truth", Mia said innocently._

_Letty eyed Brian appraisingly. "You're a cop, and you're blonde… you'd better have a spine of steel, man", she said seriously._

"_**Letty**__", Mia hissed warningly._

_Letty flashed her a look that was both irritated and amused. "Out of Vince, your brother, and me, I'm going to be the nicest in this situation because I know you can take care of yourself. That's why we started here, right?" She glanced at Brian who was doing a good job keeping a straight face. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt unless you prove me wrong", she said, her voice dead calm. "That ever happens, you'd better move to an __**entirely**__ different country before I catch up with you. You prove you're worth it, and I might give you a few tips on dealing with the overbearing men in our family who are going to make you earn their trust. And fair warning, if you make her cry, you're toast."_

_She leaned against the opposite counter calmly, having said her piece, and waited with her arms folded across her chest._

_Brian met her gaze steadily and then nodded once, "Understood."_

"_You might do alright", Letty conceded, the corners of her mouth twitching into a ghost of a smile. She went to the fridge and grabbed a beer. "Hey, Mi- go look in that bag on the counter", she raised her eyebrows._

"_What is it?" Mia asked suspiciously before crossing the kitchen._

"_I had another reason for being late", she shrugged._

_Mia peered into the bag and went a bit wide-eyed. "Dessert?" she asked over her shoulder._

"_Maurice says hello", Letty said casually._

_Mia giggled. "Did he kiss you again?"_

"_Only on the cheek!" Letty protested mildly. "You know Dom scared him off from hitting on me years ago. He's always been good to us. Besides, his pastries are to __**die for**__."_

"_They are that", Mia agreed._

"_Are you saying I have competition?" Brian asked wryly._

_Letty couldn't help the surprised laugh that tumbled out of her mouth. __**She might actually like this one. She hadn't approved of the last guy Mia had brought home. Brandon was probably still watching over his shoulder for Letty to come after him with a cleaver.**_

_Mia just smiled slightly and shook her head, pausing to kiss his cheek as she passed on the way to the stove. "There's no competition", she promised softly. "And don't let anyone tell you otherwise."_

_He grinned at her. "Good to know."_

_Letty went to open one of the cupboards. "I don't know about you two, but I'm starving. Let's sit down and have dinner, yeah?"_

00

_The beginning of April:_

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Letty often got an extra hour or so of sleep in the mornings because Mia's schedule usually allowed her to take Aiden to school before her morning classes started. Mia would be graduating at the end of this semester, and they were all anxious for her.

One of these mornings in particular found Dominic in her shower. Letty had woken up when the water turned on, and she lingered in bed long enough to stretch and wonder absently if Mia had left her any coffee – she usually filled her thermos instead of sharing on the mornings she left early.

Letty got out of bed and pulled on her black silk robe before making her way into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She was sitting on the counter near the sink, legs crossed lazily, when Dom got out of the shower.

He smirked. "Now, what's the point in covering up the goodies when I'm going to get at them again anyways?"

"Yes, I'm sure if you had your way we would get stranded on a deserted island where we would somehow mysteriously lose all of our clothes, and you could have your way with me twenty-four seven, but-"

"You've been reading too many romance novels", Dom laughed.

"Mia keeps leaving them on my bookcase", she grumbled.

"No one said you had to _read_ them." He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the mouth, "Morning."

Letty kissed him back, laughing when his hand slid up her thigh, "It was a _good_ morning."

"I like waking up to you in the morning", he mumbled, sucking on her bottom lip.

She grinned as his hands slipped inside her silky excuse for a robe to grope her. "I have to shower", she protested. "Aiden will be up soon. And you have to at least not be half naked if you're in my bedroom."

"Why the hell-?"

"We're his parents, but he doesn't exactly remember us being together, Dom. It's going to be confusing for him. And I'd rather this wasn't completely awkward. And having to answer the question, '_why is daddy half-naked in mommy's room_' when we're still living in separate houses, is not a question I want to answer."

"We're in this, aren't we?" Dominic asked seriously.

"Yeah."

He ran a hand through her hair. "Let, we need to talk to our kid."

She sighed and nodded. "Okay. How do we do this?"

"We'll talk about it tonight, okay? And we can talk to Aiden tomorrow."

"Go put a shirt on", she insisted, hopping down from the counter. She slid her robe off and dropped it on the cushioned dressing chair. "Tell Aiden you came for breakfast", Letty said as she stepped into the shower.

0

She was toweling off twenty minutes later and heard her cell phone ringing. Letty answered it, paying more attention to the sounds coming from her kitchen than her caller I.D. By some miracle, Dominic had managed to get Aiden to let her wake herself up this morning.

And she smelled coffee.

She resisted the urge to yank him back into the bedroom for another round, and answered her phone.

"Hello?"

"Letty", her mother's voice on the other end of the line.

"Mom- it's early", Letty sighed as she found a t-shirt and jean shorts to wear.

"Anything you'd like to tell me?" Susana asked with a hint of amusement.

Letty groaned. "Who told?!" Then she shook her head knowingly. "Tony called you?"

"He and I have been single parents of some _unruly_ teenagers for a good portion of our friendship, Letty. Banding together was the only way to survive. Just because you've all grown up – more or less – doesn't mean we are any less involved."

"So… are you mad? Or do you just want to say I told you so?"

"Neither", she answered softly. "I'm proud of you, mija. Choosing to risk your heart again, and allowing old wounds to heal… it takes a lot of courage. Dominic is a good man; and you love each other."

"Mami, I was going to tell you-"

"Just promise you'll give me a heads up before there's another little one on the way, alright?"

Letty choked. "I'm _not_ pregnant!"

"I have to go", Susana said with a laugh. "Tell Dom I said the three of us should have dinner. My treat."

"Mother!"

Susana hung up on her.

Letty scowled and finished dressing quickly and shoved her phone in her pocket. She headed through the small dining room, pausing to kiss the top of her son's head and ruffle his hair.

"Mom, Dad came over to make me waffles!"

She grinned. "I see that."

"I knew Mia snitched the waffle maker", Dom rolled his eyes and handed her a large cup of coffee as she entered the kitchen.

"Thanks."

He frowned at her. "What is it?"

She shook her head. "My mom called. Seems Tony gave her an informative call before I got to it."

"Dad did?" Dom repeated curiously.

"Old habits die hard, I guess", she muttered.

"So, what's the verdict? Is Susana in ass-kicking mode?"

Letty snorted. "She invited us to dinner."

"That's good, right?"

"It's not bad", she admitted.

"You're getting stressed over nothing?" he raised an eyebrow.

She grinned. "Yeah, maybe."

"Mhm", he hummed playfully leaning down to steal a quick kiss. "Any day your mom isn't threatening my balls with a machete or metaphorically kicking my ass, is good."

Letty snickered. "Yeah, I know. You've been on the other end of her switch-swinging arm at least once. Ass burning in _such_ a bad way… Worse than that time I tried tanning in the buff."

He smirked at her. "I was rubbing aloe on your sensitive bits for a week."

She groaned. "I was such a whiny bitch. You took good care of me."

He laughed. "You spent four days lying naked in my bed. I wasn't complaining."

"Good point", she conceded mildly.

Her cell phone rang again.

Letty pulled it from her pocket, glancing at the I.D. "It's Kelly." She frowned slightly, swiping the screen to answer her phone. "Kelly? What's up?"

"Letty, I'm glad I caught you. I was wondering if you could do us a favor?"

"Sounds serious", she teased. "What do you need?"

"David and I have our anniversary coming up in a few weeks. How much would you hate me if I asked you to take the kids for a long weekend?"

"And the dog?" Letty raised an eyebrow. Dom was watching her with interest.

Kelly groaned in realization. "We can board her if it's a problem."

"Don't worry about it." Letty chuckled. "When?"

"Thursday through Sunday, the weekend after next… They've gone to stay with one of our parents' over the years, but we've never taken more than one night away. It's just too long for either of them to handle for so long. I hate to even ask-"

"Kel, I'm writing it on my calendar", Letty interrupted with a laugh. "I've got you covered. Besides, Dom will help."

"Help with what?" Dom asked suspiciously.

She just grinned back at him.

"Is he right there?" Kelly asked suspiciously. "You two are the worst ever at acting like separated parents", she teased.

"Yeah… about that", she murmured sheepishly.

Kelly gasped. "Keeping secrets from your friend isn't nice!"

"Are you busy tomorrow morning?" Letty offered. "I can meet you for brunch somewhere after my yoga class. Around eleven-thirty? Bring Sarah. Maybe we can swing by the park for a bit and tire her out."

"Sounds good", Kelly agreed. Letty heard a clatter in the background, and her friend groaned in frustration. "I gotta go", she said exasperatedly. "Sarah's in the pantry again."

Letty snorted as the line clicked off and set her phone on the counter.

"Do I want to know what you just offered me for?" Dom asked, sounding a bit amused.

"Uh… helping me?" she batted her eyelashes innocently.

"Mhm", he hummed encouragingly, crowding her against the sink.

Letty grinned. "Not that kind of help, pal." She swatted at his groping hands. "Aiden is around the corner!"

He leaned down and nipped her bottom lip. "You're no fun."

"That's not what you were saying this morning", she smirked. "Kelly asked me to take the kids for a few days. It's their anniversary in a few weeks, so they wanted a long weekend away."

"So I'm going to help you wrangle the kids?" he laughed.

"Yes, please."

He shook his head in amusement, but gave in easily. "Okay."

She rose up on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

00

**A/N: During the next few chapters, Letty goes to brunch, Dom and Letty talk to Aiden and go to dinner with Susana, Brian meets the Toretto family, and another quick glimpse into the flashback dinner in the beginning of this chapter. Okay, so I didn't edit the beginning section, so I'll probably have to fix it later, but I think you've all waited long enough for this. We're heading in a nice direction.**


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